Pokemon Masters Tour
by secrpg
Summary: The Pokemon League has been restructured, now a series of tournaments spread over the season. Ash joins many other strong trainers competing in the newly formed Pokemon Masters Tour. Can he win the prestigious Masters Cup? Centres on anime chars and OCs
1. The Masters Tour

_NOTES: The Pokemon League has been restructured, now a series of tournaments over the course of the season. Ash joins many other strong trainers -- some from the anime, some not -- in his quest to earn the right to compete in the prestigious Pokemon Masters Cup when the season is over. Does he have what it takes?_

_Just so you know, Ash has just turned fourteen. You can work out the other ages from that._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter One: The Masters Tour**

The sun was setting over Pallet Town as Ash and Brock walked along the last stretch of Route 1, discussing the recent developments.

"I still don't understand why the Pokemon League felt the need to change the system," said Ash, knowing that his older and more knowledgeable friend would be able to enlighten him.

"Well, there are a lot of reasons," began Brock. "For one, the Pokemon League felt that one short tournament held each year wasn't enough for a whole region. I mean, the tougher trainers tend to earn all eight badges in a month or so and then have most of the year to train for the League Championships. You would be the same if you didn't keep leaving all your Pokemon with Professor Oak when you travel to a new region."

"Yeah, well, I like a challenge!" said Ash, a little too defensively.

"Relax, Ash, I wasn't having a go at you. But this new Pokemon Masters Tour idea is going to be so much better. By abolishing the gyms system, the Pokemon League is allowing the top trainers to compete in high-quality events all year round."

"I still don't understand how you qualified as one of the 80 competitors in this Tour, Brock. No offence or anything, but you never even battle these days."

"None taken," said Brock, smiling. "But they've invited all their recent employees. And I was a Gym Leader not so long ago, so I qualified to enter the first Tour. It's great, because they're now allowing the old Gym Leaders to show off their real talents as trainers by competing against only the very best. You should be honoured to be given one of the wildcards, Ash."

"They wouldn't have overlooked me," said Ash confidently. "I've competed in four regional championships and won the Orange League. I think my name as a Pokemon Trainer is pretty big these days."

"Maybe so, Ash, but you're going to have your work cut out competing on this tour. Only the top sixteen trainers are allowed to compete in the Pokemon Masters Cup at the end of the season. Although, there are over fifty tournaments in one season, so you've got plenty other titles to compete for."

"Fifty? That's loads!"

"Yeah, it is, and you'll find that the best trainers choose not to compete in all of them. If you try to, both you and your Pokemon will be too physically and mentally tired to make an impact."

"No worries, Brock, Pikachu and I can handle anything!"

Ash expected the customary squeal of agreement from his shoulder, but noticed Pikachu was dozing.

"We'll see, Ash," said Brock conservatively. "At least you'll be challenging for titles... I know I'll be battling to avoid relegation from the tour."

"Relegation?"

"Yeah, there's a rankings system made up based on your performances over the season. At the end, the bottom eight trainers are relegated, and the sixteen above them compete in play-off matches to try and stay in. Of course, the Pokemon League have kept a junior competition going, allowing the best sixteen trainers to step up into the Masters Tour for the next season."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Ash. "I'm sure you'll be good enough to stay in Brock."

"We'll see."

As Ash and Brock entered Pallet Town, the conversation died away and each trainer lapsed into thought of the arduous battles that were surely going to follow.

* * *

"Ash! You're back! How've you been? Have you been eating healthily? I hope the stories I've been hearing about Sinnoh food aren't true. Apparently, obesity levels have gone through the roof in that region—"

"Mum, get off!" said Ash, trying to break free of his mother's embrace. Upon achieving this difficult task, his eyes fell on the man standing further back.

"Professor, what are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Ash," said Professor Oak, smiling.

"Hey, Professor!" said Brock cheerfully.

"Hello there, Brock! Well, I'll bet you're both excited about the Tour starting next week?"

"Can't wait!" said Ash enthusiastically.

"Yeah, should be great," agreed Brock.

"Well, I can tell you, we've already started preparation for the Pallet Classic here. The new stadium's nearly all done!"

"Wait! There's a tournament in Pallet?" asked Ash, excitedly.

"Ash," Brock said in exasperation, "I've told you already, there's a tournament in every major town and city in each of the four main regions."

"That's right," said Oak, "and as the first quarter of the season is here in Kanto, it's not long until we get under way here."

"Why've you called it 'Classic'?"

"We've been instructed to by the Pokemon League. Each tournament is to be named after the host town or city, and is to be called either 'Classic' or 'Doubles' depending on the rules."

"So the Pallet Classic's one-on-one, is it?"

"That's right, Ash."

"Alright! That trophy's got my name on it already!"

Oak smiled at Ash's confidence. Brock, however, was more serious.

"Well, I genuinely think you'll be a big contender, Ash. The Pallet Classic's only a Rank 1 tournament, meaning that, because there are fewer ranking points at stake, there might not be so many big names entering."

Ash gave Brock a blank look, who merely sighed.

"Did you actually read _any_ of the leaflet you got sent? There are four different ranks of tournament. Each one has a slightly different format. Rank 1 tournaments have fewest ranking points available whereas Rank 4 tournaments have the most. Because Rank 4 tournaments are the most prestigious, there's only one in each region."

"And the Kanto one's at Indigo Plateau," added the Professor.

"Right," agreed Brock.

"So where are you headed first, Ash?" asked Delia.

"Uh..."

"He's going to Fuchsia City, Mrs Ketchum."

"I am?"

"Yes, because that's where the opening tournament is held."

"Right. I guess that's where I'll be going first then."

Brock rolled his eyes.

"_Still the same old Ash"_, he thought to himself.

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Ash and Brock are heading for Fuchsia City. Hopefully Delia and Oak will have minor roles in the fic._


	2. Old Faces in Fuchsia

**Chapter Two: Old Faces in Fuchsia**

It had been five days since Ash and Brock had left Pallet Town to set off on yet another journey. This one, however, had a very different feel to it. They hadn't left to travel; they had left to battle. And battling was what Ash loved most.

The competitors had all been given free accommodation in one of Fuchsia's finest hotels—much to Ash and Brock's delight. It was certainly an improvement on camping out every night, even if Ash did miss Brock's cooking.

As all eighty competitors were staying in the hotel, Ash had seen many familiar faces from his travels, most notably Ritchie, a boy with whom he had made friends during his first ever Pokemon League Championship. However, Ash was not yet finished with meeting old friends.

"Hey Ash, it's been a while."

Ash turned to see a boy of his age, dressed in a black shirt, his brown hair spiked up at all angles.

"Gary? No way! I thought you were finished with battling!"

"Yeah," said his old rival carelessly, "but the Pokemon League sent me a personal invitation, you know, because I took temporary charge of the Viridian Gym a long time ago. I wasn't going to say no. I miss the thrill of battling to be honest."

"Cool," said Ash, still stunned by Gary's appearance. "Well, all the best for the tournament—unless you battle me, of course."

"I still remember the last match you guys had," said Brock, grinning. "That was something special."

"PiPikachu!" agreed Pikachu.

"Yeah, well, that's not going to happen again," said Gary confidently. "I've been training hard ever since I was invited."

"So have I," blurted out Ash quickly—and untruthfully.

Gary raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I've been talking to my Pokemon a lot and stuff. I think building our friendship does more than physical training could ever do."

Ash heard someone give a short, derisive laugh. He, Brock and Gary all turned to see another boy walking past, with his hands in his pockets. Ash didn't need to see the boy's distinctive purple hair to know who it was. Only Paul would laugh at the idea of building friendships with Pokemon.

* * *

It was late in the evening and the hotel's lounge was crowded with eighty people, all listening to a diminutive, ageing man, standing on a table.

"Well, good evening to you all, ladies and gentlemen."

"Pika."

"And Pokemon," added the man with a smile.

"As you know, I am Charles Goodshow, President of the Pokemon League. I would like to welcome you all here this evening to this very informal opening to the new Pokemon Masters Tour. Of course, you all received a leaflet detailing the structure of the Tour, so I don't need to go into detail on that, as you all know how this is going to work."

At these words, Brock shot a grin at Ash.

"However, each tournament is naturally going to have a slightly different feel to it due to the venue. And it is for this reason that I hand this speech over to the Pokemon Masters Tour Fuchsia Representative. Please give a warm welcome to the Safari Zone Warden."

There was a polite smattering of applause as Goodshow stepped off the table and another old man began to speak.

"Yes, thank you Mr. Goodshow, and may I also extend to you my gratitude for allowing the opening of this wonderful new competition to be held in the equally wonderful city of Fuchsia. I hope and trust that..."

Ash began to lose concentration. He could always ask Brock what was going on anyway. At the moment, it was too hard to focus on anything but the three battles he was going to face over the next few days. Brock had informed him that sixty-four trainers were competing in the Fuchsia Classic and that they would be split into sixteen groups of four, with only the best two from each group progressing into the knockout stages.

"Ash!" whispered Brock, digging him in the ribs.

"What? Oh, right."

The girl on his left was holding out a stack of leaflets for him to pass on. He took the pile, picked off the top leaflet and handed the rest along to Brock. He tuned in to what the Warden was saying.

"Now, these leaflets contain the draw for the competition. The matches begin the day after tomorrow. Groups one through four will be playing morning matches, groups five through eight play in the afternoon, groups nine through twelve in the evening, and groups thirteen through sixteen will participate under the floodlights in out night-time matches. I think now would be as good a time to any to finish, and wish you all the best of luck in the Fuchsia Classic."

There was no applause this time; everyone was too busy poring over the leaflets, eager to find out who they would be facing in the group stages. Indeed, Ash himself was already scanning through the pages.

"_Come on, where am I?"_

He had seen many familiar names, including Brock's and Gary's, before finally seeing 'Ash (Kanto)' under Group 13.

_Group 13_

_Pryce (Johto); Agatha (Kanto); Sabrina (Kanto); Ash (Kanto)_

Ash stared fixedly at the three names next to his, his mind racing.

"_Pryce... Agatha... Sabrina... I'm pretty sure... Pryce... Agatha... Sabrina... I've met them all before... Pryce... Johto... Agatha... Kanto... Sabrina... Kanto... Yeah... I've definitely met them all before... Pryce... Agatha... Sabrina..."_

Happy that he was able to put faces to his foes, he began flicking through the remainder of the groups.

"Looks like we've both got tough draws, Ash," said Brock heavily. "I've got _two_ Frontier Brains: Spenser and Anabel... how unlucky can you get..."

But Ash wasn't listening, he was staring wide-eyed at the final group.

"Ash?"

"Listen to this, Brock!" said Ash excitedly. "Group sixteen: that fighting trainer, Maylene, from Sinnoh, some girl called Heather from Johto, Elite Four Flint from Sinnoh," he looked up from the leaflet, grinning at Brock.

"And Misty!"

* * *

_**NOTES**_**: **_So yeah. Misty will have a starring role in the fic. As will Gary. Paul maybe less so... but he'll have his moments._

_Ash's draw is reasonable. He'll face Sabrina first, followed by Pryce, and finally Agatha._

_You'll notice throughout the fic that all Gym Leader teams deviate majorly from just their specialised type. I always thought Gym Leaders must really be stronger than they are in official battles, otherwise why would the Pokemon League employ them?_


	3. Preparation

**Chapter Three: Preparation**

**KOGA DRAWN WITH TITLE-CONTENDER LANCE**

_The draw for the Fuchsia Classic was announced last night. In Group 14, home favourite Koga was drawn with Alice, Thorton and Dragon Master Lance. Lance, regarded by the Bookmakers as third favourite for the title, has been a member of the Elite Four in Kanto, as well as championing the Johto Elite Four, which included Koga himself._

_Elsewhere, hot favourite Steven, one of the few competitors from Hoenn asked to enter the opening tournament, begins his campaign against another Kanto and Johto Elite Four member, Bruno._

Ash put the _Pokemon League Periodical_ down and looked across the table at Brock who was munching on some toast.

"Hey, Brock, how do they decide who's favourite for the tournament?"

Brock chewed a little on his toast before answering.

"Well, they take lots of things into account. They'll have watched all the major League Championships and studied every trainer's Pokemon and battle style. Certain strategies and teams always work better against some trainers than others. Of course, there might be some trainers on really good form, or battling in front of their home fans, like Koga will be here."

Ash had picked up the _Periodical_ again.

"Hmm... I'm battling Sabrina in the second of the night matches. Should be pretty cool. I've never battled at night in an official tournament before."

"Don't be so sure, Ash," Brock warned. "Sabrina trains psychic Pokemon, and I've just got a feeling they'll be even more difficult to fight at night."

"No worries," said Ash smoothly, "She'll be over-reliant on one type. I just have to pick a team that psychic Pokemon are going to struggle against."

Brock looked exasperated at this.

"Ash, you don't seriously think she's going to throw six psychic Pokemon at you? And anyway, you don't have a single dark Pokemon, so you're gonna have to find some other way of resisting any psychic attacks you take."

"Hang on, you don't have any dark-types either, and you're facing a psychic trainer, too!"

"Yeah, but I don't have the luxury of choosing from about twenty Pokemon like you do, Ash. I've only really got eight Pokemon that are fit to battle. What's more, Croagunk and Crobat are both weak to psychic, so I've pretty much already decided on my team for tomorrow morning."

Ash didn't say anything to this. Brock was already ahead of him; he had chosen his team, whereas Ash had settled on nothing except using Pikachu.

Suddenly, he jumped up from his seat.

"I've gotta go get prepared, Brock! I'll be hanging out near the Safari Zone."

Brock simply shook his head at Ash's impatience, and watched Pikachu take off, following its trainer out of the dining room.

* * *

Ash tossed his backpack onto an old oak bench and sat down, allowing Pikachu to jump up onto his lap.

"So, Pikachu, reckon we can beat Sabrina?"

"Pika!"

"Yeah... I just wish Brock was as optimistic as you, buddy. He seems to always focus on the negatives. But we don't need dark Pokemon to beat Sabrina!"

Pikachu voiced its agreement, before somebody else spoke.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're planning out a strategy."

Ash looked up.

"Hey, Gary."

Gary sat down next to him

"You know, Ash, you can't really try to second-guess your opponents team if you've never battled them before."

"I have battled Sabrina though... a while ago..."

"What Pokemon did she use?"

"Kadabra."

Ash tried not to shiver as he remembered the events around the time of his battle for the Marsh Badge. Not only had Sabrina's psychic Pokemon forced him to use a ghost-type—something he was less than comfortable with—but he, Brock and Misty had almost been trapped in her toy box for eternity.

"Right, so you know one Pokemon she had years ago. That should help in a six on six battle," Gary smirked.

"I know what I'm doing, Gary," said Ash heatedly.

"Right," said Gary, still smirking as he got up off the bench. "Anyway, I only came to tell you that Misty's here. She asked me to tell you she's looking for you."

Ash looked at him questioningly.

"You know, that girl you and Brock used to hang around with."

"Yeah, I know who Misty is, thanks."

"Well then, stop acting like you've seen a Gastly and speak."

Ash gave him a glare before replying.

"I was just wondering why you didn't just _tell _her where I am, seeing as you clearly know. I actually came here for a bit of peace."

"I'll leave you to your... uh... _preparation_ then," deliberately putting emphasis on the word before strolling off, hands in pockets.

Ash watched him go with a mixture of anger and anguish. He was annoyed at how Gary still managed to get under his skin after all these years, but at the same time he knew Gary had been talking sense. His preparation for tomorrow's battle was nowhere near good enough.

* * *

It was evening.

Ash and Brock were sitting in the Pokemon Centre waiting room, both having transported their six Pokemon from Professor Oak's Lab and Pewter Gym.

"So, which six did you pick again, Ash?"

"Well, Pikachu, obviously—"

"Pika!"

"Sceptile," Ash continued, scratching Pikachu's ears, "Noctowl, Buizel—"

"Ash Ketchum. It's good to see you again."

Ash and Brock both looked up to see an ageing lady hobbling towards them. She wore a purple dress and carried a walking stick. Ash recognised her as Agatha, a member of the Kanto Elite Four.

"Agatha! Good to see you, too!"

"I heard the Battle Frontier went well," Agatha said, "Scott told me all about it."

"Yeah, it was awesome! Hopefully I'll get a chance to battle some of the Frontier Brains again here."

"You'll have to get out of this group first, Ash! Only two of us qualify and, between you and me, I quite fancy my chances, so you'll have to settle for second!"

Ash stood up, a grin spreading across his face. He liked nothing better than talking himself up before a battle.

"I'm afraid that's not gonna happen, Agatha!"

"PiPikachu!"

"That battle we had before I took on the Battle Frontier was just a one-on-one. I didn't have the chance to show you what I can do."

"And I could say the same thing," said Agatha, smiling at her young adversary's confidence. "But I must dash, Ash! An old lady like myself needs her beauty sleep. Especially with my match against Pryce tomorrow!"

Ash was even more fired up as Agatha walked away, her walking stick making an echo every time it hit the hard floor.

"Alright! I can't wait!"

"Calm down, Ash. Just remember, you haven't trained properly since we got here," Brock cautioned him. "You'll need to have all your wits about you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" repeated Ash with excitement. "Tomorrow had better come soon, because I'm ready for it!"

* * *

_**NOTES: **__So yeah. Ash meets one of his future opponents (well, I suppose they have met before)._

_Just so you know, Gary is in a group with Erin (OC), Blaine and Rory (OC). One of these characters will have a starring role in the future._

_Pokemon League Periodical ftw!_


	4. The Morning Sun

**Chapter Four: The Morning Sun**

The sun was beginning to take its commanding position in the sky, casting half-shadows over portions of the stadium, where the Fuchsia Classic was well underway.

Ash looked up at the giant TV screen in the hotel lounge, struggling to take in what he was seeing.

"Well, this match is nearing its conclusion now, ladies and gentleman," informed one of the commentators. "Young Gary clutches his final Pokeball in his right hand and throws it in front of Rory's Poliwrath. It's a Pinsir! Gary's final hope of salvaging this battle rests with the rather underused bug-type."

"Okay, Pinsir, let's make things happen!" yelled Gary. "Use X-Scissor!"

Pinsir ran towards its slightly smaller opponent and slashed Poliwrath's body. However, it did not seem to cause a great deal of pain as the giant tadpole was able to swiftly counter with a Water Gun attack, propelling Poliwrath back several metres.

Rory's smirk was evident, even on the TV screen.

"This is no good... Pinsir, go back towards it and use Vital Throw!"

"Well, it appears Gary is trying to use fighting attacks against a part fighting Pokemon. Will Poliwrath be able to counter?"

"Let it come towards you, Poliwrath," yelled Rory.

Gary looked puzzled at this tactic, but urged Pinsir on as it grabbed onto Poliwrath's arms.

"Alright!" exclaimed Rory. "There's no way it can out-muscle you! Don't let it throw you; make sure you throw it instead! Use Submission!"

Ash could only watch in shock as Poliwrath jumped into the air, still tied to Pinsir, and dived recklessly onto the hard ground, using Pinsir as a cushion. Poliwrath, although slightly hurt by the fall, stood on Pinsir's horizontal back and flexed its muscles.

The referee raised his flag.

"Pinsir is unable to battle. Rory from Ecruteak City wins the match six-three!"

Ash never saw the dejected look on Gary's face; he was already walking out of the lounge.

* * *

"Nice one, Rory."

Rory, who had just left the Fuchsia Stadium, saw a girl with shoulder-length black hair following him out the door. Rory had to look down to see the slight smirk on her face, small as she was.

"Thanks," he said, grinning. "I saw you won pretty easily, too. I'm looking forward to battling you later on in the tournament."

"Why?" asked the girl. "I don't think you've ever actually beaten me, have you?"

Rory chose not to answer this, but merely gave the girl a playful shove as he walked on towards the hotel.

* * *

Ash had never been inside the stadium before, and consequently took longer than he would have liked to find the Trainers' Room. There was a bored looking man standing outside the door, who stopped Ash as he stretched his hand towards the handle.

"'Fraid you can't come in here, sonny."

"I'm Ash Ketchum, sir. I'm competing in the Fuchsia Classic," said Ash hurriedly, producing his Pokedex as ID.

"I'm aware of that," he said tiredly, "but only trainers competing in morning matches are allowed in just now."

"Oh," said Ash, who had not realised this. "Well, d'you think I'd be able to have a quick word with one of the trainers in there?"

"Name?"

"Ash Ketch—"

"Yes, you've told me that. What's the trainer's name?"

"Oh," said Ash, feeling himself go red, "Brock."

The man opened the door to the Trainers' Room and disappeared inside for a few seconds, before emerging followed by Brock and also, to Ash's surprise, Gary.

"Hey guys," he said. "I saw your match Gary... what happened?"

Gary looked disappointed as he said, "My opponent was better than me. That's what happened."

As he walked past Ash on his way to the stadium's exit, he added, "But just imagine how bad it would have been if I hadn't prepared properly."

"Just you wait!" Ash shouted after him. "I'll show you who's prepared!"

"Easy, Ash," said Brock.

Ash noticed he didn't appear quite as calm as he usually did.

"You nervous?"

Brock nodded.

"Listen, you'll be fine. Even if you don't manage to beat Anabel, you still know your Pokemon are gonna give it their all."

Brock managed a smile.

"Thanks Ash, that was surprisingly philosophical coming from you!"

Ash was still struggling to get his head round what Brock had just said when the door guard spoke to Brock.

"Brock, Spenser has just beaten Sean. You're up now."

Brock's face turned slightly pale as he turned away from Ash without speaking and headed back through the Trainers' Room.

"Can I get a seat in the stadium?" Ash asked the guard hopefully.

"Yeah, all competitors are allowed free access in the stadium for any match they choose to watch."

"Free?" repeated Ash, enjoying the chance to use one of his favourite words, "Alright!"

Ash had sprinted a few metres before coming to an abrupt halt and turning back to the guard.

"Uh... which way is it to the stands again?"

* * *

Rory was approaching the hotel lounge when he saw a boy of around his age juggling a few Pokeballs.

"Hey, Kev," he said. "What's with the juggling?"

"I can't decide whether Hitmonchan, Luxray or Infernape should be the sixth Pokemon I use tonight. I figured I'd pick the one I don't drop."

"Nice to see you using your head as usual," said Rory, grinning at his friend.

* * *

"Steelix, use Iron Tail!"

Steelix dived towards Anabel's Alakazam and swept its tail along the ground, knocking the psychic Pokemon off its feet.

"Now finish it with Double Edge!"

"Alakazam, Teleport!"

Alakazam managed to make itself disappear just in time; Steelix crashed straight into the ground, but felt no pain due its Rock Head ability.

Alakazam reappeared at the end of Steelix's tail, prompting Brock to yell a warning at his Pokemon. However, Steelix was too slow to turn around before Alakazam launched an attack.

"Hit it with Psychic!"

Alakazam's eyes flashed as Steelix became suspended in mid-air and was thrown to the ground. At this, the giant rock snake gave an almighty roar.

"Okay Steelix, lets finish it with an Earthquake!"

Steelix obeyed, slamming its tail against the ground, creating vibrations throughout the stadium. Alakazam was thrown backwards by the force and this time was unable to recover.

"Alakazam is unable to battle!" declared the referee, raising his flag.

* * *

"So anyway, I saw you won without too much trouble," said Kevin, picking up two of his Pokeballs from the floor. "Alice and I were watching in the Pokemon Centre."

"Still don't get why you didn't actually come to the stadium," Rory grumbled. "It's free, you know."

"Yeah, well, I had important team selections to make."

"You don't have that many Pokemon to choose from, to be fair."

"Quality over quantity, Rory," Kevin retorted. "You'll see what I mean tonight."

"I hope you're right. But Volkner is supposedly the toughest Gym Leader in Sinnoh, so just don't get too cocky."

"No worries," said Kevin, grinning. "I'll be cruising to a victory tonight. I'm just not sure I'm as confident for Alice."

* * *

"Well, Marshtomp has succeeded in finishing off Anabel's weakened Tentacruel and the match is level at two-two. Who will the Frontier Brain choose next?"

In response to the stadium announcer, Anabel tossed her third Pokeball into the arena, revealing a pale purple, cat-like Pokemon.

"Anabel has chosen Espeon, much to the delight of this Fuchsia crowd."

The majority of the spectators in the half-full stadium were indeed cheering at Espeon's appearance. Ash, however, sat with his arms folded, wondering if Brock would be able to cope with a psychic Pokemon now that he didn't have the raw power of Steelix to exploit Espeon's poor defence.

"Espeon, let's not mess around. Go straight in with a Psychic attack!"

Espeon lifted Marshtomp into the air, a look of intense concentration burning in its white eyes.

"Hang in there, Marshtomp!" encouraged Brock. "Use your willpower to resist!"

It seemed to half-work. Marshtomp was dumped to the ground having taken some damage, but was able to continue battling.

"Okay Marshtomp, launch a Mud Bomb at it!"

Marshtomp happily obliged, scraping up some dirt from the ground before soaking it and lobbing it towards Espeon.

"You'll have to do better than that, Brock!" taunted Anabel. "Espeon, show off your speed!"

Espeon did just that, easily dodging the ball of mud.

"Now use Psychic!"

Brock's mind was racing. Marshtomp was going to be too slow to attack Espeon, so he was going to have to use another tactic.

"Marshtomp use Bide!"

Marshtomp's body started to glow as Espeon lifted it into the air telepathically.

"Just hang on, Marshtomp," Brock muttered.

"Now, throw it to the ground!"

Espeon jerked its head and Marshtomp fell to the hard stadium floor, looking severely injured.

"Now's the time, Marshtomp! Unleash your energy!"

"Maaaaaaarsh!"

Marshtomp fired a beam of bright energy, powered by Espeon's Psychic attack, at its opponent. The force of the attack knocked Espeon against the podium on which Anabel was standing, but it also caused Marshtomp to keel over in exhaustion. Espeon seemed still to be standing.

"Marshtomp is unable to battle!"

"Alright, Espeon, good job!"

Brock called his Pokemon back, looking disappointed.

"You did well, Marshtomp. But now, it's your turn, Sudowoodo!"

"And Brock knows that his opponent's Espeon is very weak," informed the announcer.

Anabel was smiling. She looked up at the sky and said to herself, "I'm so glad I got drawn in one of the morning groups. Espeon!" her voice had returned to full volume, "use Morning Sun!"

Espeon looked up at the sun, which had now fully risen, and began to soak up its rays, drawing gasps from the crowd.

"_What's going on?"_ Ash wondered, looking on at Espeon's weird behaviour. He opened his Pokedex.

"_Morning Sun restores HP. The amount of HP restored varies according to the weather."_

Down on the battlefield, Brock groaned as he saw all the blemishes caused by Marshtomp's Bide attack slowly fade away.

"Come on then, Brock," said Anabel playfully, "Hit us if you can!"

* * *

_**NOTES:** So yeah. Gary lost and Brock is losing._

_Ash is in a night match remember, as he is in Group 13._

_Special thanks to Hyuufai for posting this fic's first review._

_Next chapter: A Tale of Two Psychics  
_


	5. A Tale of Two Psychics

**Chapter Five: A Tale of Two Psychics**

"Sudowoodo is unable to battle!"

The crowd applauded as Bock was forced to recall his fourth Pokemon. He knew he was going to have to knock that Espeon out before it could use Morning Sun again.

"Forretress! Let's go!"

The Bagworm Pokemon appeared in a glow of red light, causing Anabel to look pleased.

"Your Pokemon are too slow, Brock! Espeon use Morning Sun!"

There was a great deal of muttering in the crowd as Espeon once more took in energy from the sun to recover the damage dealt by Sudowoodo.

Brock knew that, despite the crowd's displeasure, what Anabel was doing was perfectly within the rules. He needed to land a really powerful hit on Espeon and knock it out, otherwise Espeon would keep taking advantage of its superior speed and healing abilities.

"Alright, Forretress, let's start with a strong tackle attack!"

Forretress spun towards Espeon at surprisingly high speed, but Anabel was able to call an attack to counter.

"Get out of the way with Quick Attack!"

Espeon almost managed to dodge Forretress' assault, but was caught on the side.

"Vree!" Espeon protested.

"Same again, Forretress!"

As Forretress launched itself towards Espeon once more, Anabel tried a different tactic.

"Don't try to dodge this time, just hit it full on with Psybeam!"

Forretress was stopped in its tracks as it was met by a multicoloured beam of psychic energy. As the steel-covered bug had made no attempt to resist, the effect was greater than it normally would have been.

Brock was visibly worried by the damage Forretress had taken from a usually ineffective attack. It was time for drastic action.

"Okay, Forretress, we're not gonna be able to outlast Espeon in a long battle. It's too fast and too strong. We've got to go for the big finish..."

He paused.

"Use Explosion!"

The crowd held its breath as Brock's Pokemon glowed a blindingly bright white. Eyes were shielded and ears were covered as everyone prepared for the imminent explosion.

* * *

Rory and Kevin were strolling along one of Fuchsia's quieter streets, now accompanied by a girl with long, red hair.

"I can so win!" she said angrily. "And it would be a lot easier if I got any kind of support from my so-called _friends_."

"I've been supporting you, Alice," said Rory, hurriedly. "I've said all along you can beat Lance."

The girl called Alice rounded on Kevin, seemingly expecting to hear words of encouragement from him, as well.

"Well... yeah, sure. Why not? Go you!"

This did not seem to satisfy Alice, who was about to offer a response before a tremendous noise came from somewhere ahead. The ground appeared to tremble slightly as Alice gave a shriek.

"What was that?"

* * *

"Both Espeon and Forretress are unable to battle!"

The referee's flag was barely visible through the smoke that had engulfed the arena.

"Thanks, Forretress," Brock said as he recalled his Pokemon. "I know it's not easy for you to do that."

After congratulating her Espeon, Anabel held up her fourth Pokeball.

"Let's go, Butterfree!"

"You're my last hope! Go, Geodude!"

Butterfree and Geodude took their positions on the battlefield, staring each other down.

"Stun Spore, Butterfree!"

Butterfree flew over Geodude and showered an orange powder down onto it.

"Geo!" shouted Geodude, clearly incensed that its movement had been restricted.

"Never mind, Geodude, use Rock Throw!"

Geodude was able to overcome its paralysis and throw several rocks at Butterfree, who was knocked to the ground and looked in real trouble.

"And Geodude scores a super-effective hit on the flying-type," informed the announcer, "and Anabel looks to be in trouble."

"Oh, I don't think so," she smiled. "Butterfree, can you go on?"

"Free!"

Butterfree's voice was weak, and Anabel knew she may only get one more attack from it.

"Use Supersonic!"

Several supersonic waves emanated from Butterfree's wings, surrounding Geodude and causing it to go slightly cross-eyed.

"Don't let it get to you, Geodude! Butterfree's all but finished! Tackle it!"

Geodude was able to resist its confusion and initiate a rather slow Tackle. However, despite Geodude's poor speed, Butterfree was in no shape to dodge as the heavy Pokemon crashed into it.

The flag was raised.

"Butterfree is unable to battle!"

The crowed showed its appreciation for the plucky Geodude. It was no mean feat to overcome both confusion and paralysis.

Anabel was still smiling as she threw her next Pokeball.

"You're up, Metagross!"

This brought a predictably enthusiastic reaction from the crowd, who were always delighted to see a pseudo-legendary take the field.

Brock's face fell at the revelation of Anabel's next Pokemon. Geodude was too badly affected by Butterfree's attacks to win this.

"Geodude, let's do our best! Use Rock Throw!"

Geodude picked up a rock from the stadium floor, but did not throw it at Metagross. Instead, it smashed it down on its own rocky skin, evidently confused.

"Geodude!" Brock yelled, as the crowed groaned, feeling Geodude's pain.

"Alright, Butterfree's attacks have done their job! Now finish this, Metagross! Meteor Mash!"

For the first time in the battle, the sun overhead was eclipsed as the sky became dark. A silver light, presumably from space, shone down and imbued Metagross' front-left leg.

It all appeared in slow motion to Ash, sitting in the stands, as Metagross moved towards Geodude and slammed its leg into the rock Pokemon's body. There was no doubting the outcome.

"Geodude is unable to battle! Anabel from near Tohjo Falls wins the match six-four!"

Brock took the long walk down the stairs from the Trainer's Podium and moved towards the centre of the battlefield, Anabel doing the same from the opposite side, waving to the applauding crowd.

As the trainers met, they shook hands.

"You battled well, Anabel. You thoroughly deserved your victory."

"Thanks, Brock. It was a great match."

* * *

Fuchsia City was famous for its Safari Zone, as the jungle-like surroundings provided the ideal environment for many rare Pokemon. In fact, the whole of the city was covered with unusual trees and bushes. So unusual in fact, that one of the bushes appeared to be moving.

"He's over there! Look!"

"With Pikachu on his shoulder!"

"Dis is gonna be da moment we finally get our paws on da little rat!"

The bush continued to move, unseen by the boy and his Pikachu. It had nearly reached them when it seemed to burst out laughing.

"James, are you mad? You'll blow our cover!"

"Sorry Jessie, but I just realised something."

"What?" whispered the female voice impatiently.

"We're going to am_bush_ him. Get it? Bush? Ambu—Aargh!"

Any hope of maintaining cover was blown out the window as Jessie brought her fist down over James' head, causing the man to yell in agony.

"Huh?"

The boy and his Pikachu turned round at the source of the disturbance.

"It's not da twoip!" whispered Meowth.

"Who's there?" the boy asked suspiciously.

"_Prepare for trouble, you're not one of them..."_

"_...And make it double, it's the old motto again!"_

"_To protect the world from devastation!"_

"_To unite all peoples within our nation!"_

"_To denounce the evils of truth and love!"_

"_To extend our reach to the stars above!"_

The man and woman jumped out from the bush.

"_Jessie!"_

"_James!"_

"_Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"_

"_Surrender now or prepare to fight!"_

A Meowth jumped out from the bush in which the two humans had been hiding and landed in front of them.

"_Meowth! That's right!"_

The boy looked mildly amused at what he had just seen, before turning to the Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.

"Sparky, use Thunderbolt!"

Sparky leaped from its trainer's shoulder and glared menacingly at the trio, sparks flying from its cheeks.

"Piiiiiiiiii..."

The sparks got bigger.

"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

There was a long pause.

"Chu?" suggested Jessie tamely.

Sparky looked directly into her eyes.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

* * *

"Come on, Brock, you've been sulking for the last nine hours! You should be feeling nervous for me instead. The night matches are only forty-five minutes away from starting and I'm up second!"

"Sorry, Ash. I was just wondering if I did the right thing accepting the invite here... my battling skills aren't what they once were."

Ash was about to reply when somebody else beat him to it.

"Yet you managed to hold your own against a Frontier Brain. I'd say that's not bad going."

"Agatha!" said Ash excitedly. "Your match against Pryce isn't far away."

"I'm aware of that," she said, smiling. "I'm really looking forward to it. I just wanted to tell your friend Brock here that I saw his match on the TV earlier and he should be very proud of his battling."

"Thanks, Agatha. I really appreciate that."

Agatha smiled again before turning back to Ash.

"Well, I must dash," she said. "I'm heading to the Trainers' Room in the stadium a little early so I can prepare my team."

"Awesome! See you later, Agatha!"

"All the best with your match," said Brock as she took her leave.

Having just spoken to one of his future opponents, Ash was now more aware than ever that his battle was only an hour or so away. The tension he was feeling must have shown on his face because Brock said, "Don't worry, Ash. You'll be fine. You always are."

"But I haven't trained properly," he protested, starting to panic. "Gary was right, I'm danger of getting badly beaten."

"Relax," soothed Brock. "You know, the Trainers' room opens an hour before each set of matches start. You could always head along now if you want to do a bit of last minute preparation."

"What's the room like?"

"Well, the main room is pretty basic. It's pretty much the same as a Pokemon Centre and it's mainly for trainers who are about to battle or have just battled. You know, so they can socialise. When it gets to the point that you're next up to battle, you're allowed to go into your own private dressing room, which is really cool. There are facilities to help your Pokemon relax or toughen up—whichever is more your style. There's also a TV so you can watch the match in progress if you want."

"Alright, sounds cool," said Ash, feeling slightly calmer.

"You want to head over then?"

"You bet!"

* * *

Jessie was holding the telephone at arm's length, cringing at the angry shouts coming from the other end.

"_What do you mean you ran away?"_

"We didn't run away, sir," said Jessie, beseechingly.

"Yeah," added James, "It was more of a blast-off..."

"_Enough excuses. You will have that machine for me before the Fuchsia Classic is over. It will be far easier when there are lots of tourists. That way there are more potential suspects. Now don't you dare speak to me again until you have that machine in your worthless hands!"_

* * *

"Well, Ash, I'm not allowed inside just now. I'm gonna go get a good seat for Agatha's match. All the best!"

"Thanks, Brock."

Ash knew he owed Brock more than thanks for all the encouragement he had offered over the years, but that was all he could give.

Ash opened the door to the Trainers' Room, earning him a dirty look from the guard, clearly still annoyed with the hassle he had caused earlier.

The room was, as Brock had said, very similar to a Pokemon Centre—there was even a Nurse Joy behind the desk. Apart from her, there was only one other person in the room. She had long, red hair and green eyes and was fidgeting nervously with one of her sleeves.

Ash decided to go over and sit next to her; he didn't want to appear unfriendly.

"Hey," she said as he sat down.

"Hi," said Ash. "You got a battle coming up?"

"Yeah." She paused. "You're Ash, aren't you?"

"Yep," Ash replied. "And you're... uh..." Ash looked sheepish. "What's your name again?"

"Alice."

She looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"Oh, yeah, I knew it was something like that..." his voice trailed away awkwardly. He was glad when the TV screen in the top-right corner of the room suddenly came to life and pictures of a gradually-filling stadium were shown.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for tuning into our live coverage of the Fuchsia Classic here in the inaugural Pokemon Masters Tour! We have already seen twenty-four matches today, but now the floodlights are lit over this magnificent arena. There are another eight battles to be fought tonight, starting with Pryce versus Agatha from Group 13, and that is coming in just under ten minutes' time!"

Ash turned away from the screen when he heard the sound of a door swinging open.

A young woman had just entered, dressed in red. Her green hair fell down past her slightly cold-looking eyes. She looked briefly over at Alice and Ash, before going to sit at the other side of the room.

Ash's heart began to race. He knew her. He had seen her a long time ago. In fact, he had battled her a long time ago. And he was about to do it again.

It was Sabrina.

* * *

_**NOTES:** So yeah. Disappointment for Brock. Also, I Didn't mention any of the afternoon and evening matches, cause there were no hugely important matches there, though some minor characters did battle such as Paul and Ritchie. If anyone particularly wants to see all the results/group tables etc just post it in a review and I'll add them on my profile._

_Team Rocket make their debut. I love writing them :p We also get a glimpse of the beginning of a major upcoming plotline involving them._

_Chapter ends with Ash only half an hour or so away from his opening match._

_Next Chapter: Sabrina's Surprise_


	6. Sabrina's Surprise

**Chapter Six: Sabrina's Surprise**

"So are you with me?"

His six Pokemon gave determined cries of assent, which echoed in the spacious dressing room.

"Awesome! Not long to go now, guys..."

He returned everyone except Pikachu to their Pokeball. Pikachu promptly climbed onto Ash's shoulder.

"Alright, Pikachu! We can do this!"

"PikaPi!"

"And there we have it, folks!"

Ash looked up at the large TV screen.

"Gengar's Shadow Ball attack was too much for Pryce's Piloswine and Agatha takes the match six-four! The trainers may be shaking hands to signal the end of the match, but don't think the excitement is over! Next up under the floodlights are Sabrina and Ash in an all-Kanto clash!"

As the commentator said this, Ash noticed the large light above the door change from red to green, indicating that it was time for him to make his way to the stadium.

After a deep breath, he walked out of the dressing room and back through the Trainers' Room, which now held slightly more people, including Alice, who was talking to a man he recognised as Koga, the old Fuchsia City Gym Leader.

Instead of taking the door guarded by the disgruntled man, he left through the large double-doors at the other side of the room. He had never been here before and was surprised to emerge in a large tunnel, which he supposed led to the battlefield.

The walk seemed endless.

The nerves inside him were equal to the ones he had felt in his last match at the Sinnoh Conference. He had missed the thrill. But thanks to the Masters Tour he would now be able to experience this excitement throughout the year.

At the end of the tunnel were two people: one dressed in red, the other in black. Sabrina and...

"Hello, Ash," said the man in black, extending his hand, which Ash shook. "I'm your referee for this match. Now that you're both here, we can get this started. You may each use six Pokemon and may also switch Pokemon at any time. The match ends when all six Pokemon of one trainer have been declared unfit to battle by myself, or if one of you forfeits. Both trainers must reveal their opening Pokemon simultaneously. A win will earn you three points, a loss will earn you nothing. In the event of a draw you will each be awarded a point. Remember if trainers are tied on points after all three group matches, the margin of your victories will be taken into account. Sabrina, you will stand on the West Podium; Ash, you will stand on the East Podium. Any questions?"

The trainers remained silent.

"Then shake hands."

Ash and Sabrina grasped hands and their eyes met.

Did Sabrina remember him? She wasn't showing any signs of it.

"Now, you will please follow me into the stadium."

* * *

"Hey, Brock!"

Brock took his eyes away from Ash and Sabrina walking to their podiums and looked round to see a boy and a Pikachu making their way towards him. For one wild moment he thought it was Ash, before the boy sat down beside him.

"Hey Ritchie, what's up? Not seen you in a while."

* * *

"Sabrina from Saffron City against Ash from Pallet Town. Select your first Pokemon!"

The crowd made a great deal of noise in anticipation of seeing the trainers' Pokemon.

Ash looked above him at the dark sky. He was going to enjoy this.

"Go, Buizel!"

"Typhlosion."

Ash was taken aback to see this strong fire-type being used by a trainer renowned for specialising in psychic types.

Typhlosion did not roar upon being sent out as many other Pokemon do, but appeared to have taken on the calm personality of its trainer.

"An interesting matchup," commented the announcer. "While Ash has the type advantage, Sabrina's Typhlosion is sure to have more powerful attacks."

"Let's show them who has powerful attacks, Buizel! Aqua Jet!"

Buizel propelled through the air in a cocoon of water, colliding with the warm stomach of Typhlosion.

"Use Swift," commanded Sabrina, quietly.

"Try and dodge!"

Typhlosion propelled a stream of golden stars in Buizel's direction, who was frantically hopping from foot to foot in an effort to evade them.

"While it's preoccupied, flatten it with Rollout."

Typhlosion curled into a ball and began rolling, gathering momentum as it approached Buizel. Ash's Pokemon was unnerved by the large ball heading towards it and took its eye off the Swift attack, allowing itself to be hit in the side of the head by one of the sharp stars.

As it lay on the ground, Ash could see Typhlosion was about to roll right over the top of it and inflict a heavy amount of damage.

"Buizel, no!"

Typhlosion was getting nearer.

"Send a wave of water along the ground to stop it! Use Water Pulse!"

Buizel slammed its tail on the stadium floor, causing a ring of water to spread outwards from its small body. It washed underneath the rolling Typhlosion, making it trip up and fall on its side.

"Alright, use Aqua Jet before it gets up!"

"Bui!"

Buizel crashed into the Volcano Pokemon for a second time, causing an increased amount of damage due to the frail position of its opponent.

Buizel leaped back after the impact so as to avoid any swift counter.

But none came.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle!"

The crowd were slow in applauding. It was clear they had not expected the small Buizel to better the impressive fire-type.

Typhlosion vanished from the arena in a flash of red light and Sabrina held up another Pokeball.

"Exeggutor."

Sabrina threw the ball and revealed the many-headed plant.

Ash briefly considered switching his Buizel out, due to the type disadvantage, but saw the determined look on its face and knew it would not take kindly to being recalled.

"Okay, Buizel, let's go for a SonicBoom!"

"Bui!"

Buizel sent another shock wave through the ground, although it did not seem to trouble Exeggutor a great deal.

"Seed Bomb."

Exeggutor's faces screwed up as it fired an enormous seed towards its adversary.

"Get out the way!"

But unfortunately, Buizel had felt the full force of the super-effective attack and did not make another move.

"Buizel is unable to battle!"

"Oh well," Ash grumbled, recalling his defeated Buizel. "Maybe I should've switched..."

* * *

"Ash should've switched!" said Brock angrily. "He knew he had a huge disadvantage!"

Ritchie nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Heracross, I choose you!"

Ash released his Heracross, which hovered in the air looking menacing.

"_I hope she doesn't switch Pokemon..."_

"Heracross, Aerial Ace!"

Heracross sped towards Exeggutor.

"Repel it with Psychic."

Exeggutor concentrated intently, its many eyes turning red as it tried to send Heracross back in the other direction.

"Keep fighting, Heracross!"

But Heracross seemed unable to match the mind power of the psychic-type and was thrown back towards Ash's podium.

"No worries, Heracross, try again!"

"Psychic."

The two Pokemon were once again both frowning in concentration, trying to win the mental battle.

"Distract it with Leer!"

Heracross' eyes also turned red, which seemed to unsettle Exeggutor.

"Now dive in with Megahorn!"

Heracross did so and scored a direct hit.

"Ouch!" yelled the announcer. "Exeggutor is extremely vulnerable to bug-type attacks and I think that has just been shown!"

"Exeggu... tor..."

Exeggutor collapsed.

"Exeggutor is unable to battle!"

Heracross did a midair somersault in celebration, earning impressed whistles from the night-time crowd.

Ash squinted across to the other side of the stadium, waiting to see who Sabrina selected next.

"Slowbro," she stated calmly, throwing a Pokeball into the arena.

"Slooooooooooow..." said the pink Pokemon, instantly making Ash feel relaxed. He could see that Heracross also appeared to be sucked in by the lackadaisical aura of its opponent.

He shook his head from side to side.

"Let's snap out of this, Heracross! Aerial Ace!"

"Psychic."

Heracross charged towards Slowbro and smashed into its rubbery skin.

"Huh? Why didn't it use Psychic?"

Heracross looked back at its trainer, inquisitively. Its opponent appeared not to be doing anything.

Then, suddenly, Slowbro's eyes flashed purple and Heracross was thrown backwards.

"Knock it out of the air with Water Gun."

Slowbro shot a jet of water from its mouth, catching Heracross by surprise and beating it down to the ground.

"Heracross is unable to battle!"

"Well, would you look at that!" cried the announcer. "It seems to have taken Slowbro a while to get going, but it can certainly pack a punch!"

* * *

"Wonder who Ash is going to pick next."

"Probably Pikachu or Sceptile. They both have a type advantage here," said Brock.

He and Ritchie could see Ash turning to Pikachu, who raced down the podium to face Sabrina's Slowbro.

"Looks like he's gone with Pikachu."

"Pika!" said Sparky happily.

* * *

"Pika!" said Pikachu aggressively, trying to intimidate Slowbro.

"Okay, Pikachu, we've got both a type and speed advantage here. Go straight in with Volt Tackle!"

"Withdraw."

Slowbro, who now seemed to be in the mood, did not waste any time in curling itself up, increasing its defences.

"Chu!"

Pikachu completed the electrical tackle and clearly caused Slowbro some discomfort, despite the defence increase.

"Use Surf."

Slowbro began to summon a wave of water and sent it cascading across the stadium.

"Pikachu! We've had plenty experience surfing in the past! Ride the wave!"

Pikachu jumped onto the crest of the wave, trying to keep its balance.

It was hard to tell in the dimly lit stadium, but Ash thought he saw the first trace of emotion in Sabrina's eyes: shock.

"Now, use Thunder!"

"Piiiiiiiiiiikaaaaaaaaaachuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

Electricity coursed through the waves which still filled the stadium and converged on Slowbro, causing its body to flash several times, showing its skeleton.

The lightning subsided and Slowbro keeled over.

"Slowbro is unable to battle!"

The crowd screamed its approval at Pikachu's explosive attack, while Sabrina recalled Slowbro.

She took a long time deciding her next Pokemon and began to attract a few derisive whistles from the crowd.

When she did eventually throw the Pokeball, she did not announce her choice of Pokemon.

Ash waited with baited breath as the sphere of red light turned into a Pokemon.

It was a Haunter.

But was it just a normal Haunter?

Pikachu looked back at its trainer. The same thought was going through both of their minds.

Could it be...?

"Haaaaaaaaaaauuuunt!"

Ash gave a start as the Haunter pulled a comical face and started laughing.

"HauntHauntHaunt!"

Ash moved his gaze to Sabrina.

Her face was half covered in shadow from the angle of the floodlights, but there was a clear smile there. And it was directed at him.

Ash smiled back.

"Okay, Pikachu! Looks like it's time to battle an old friend!"

* * *

"No way!"

"What?" asked Ritchie.

"I've seen that Haunter before!"

"You have?"

"Yeah, Ash caught it a long time ago."

"_Ash_ caught it?"

"Yeah. Well, I say caught, the truth is it followed him."

"Then why does Sabrina have it?"

"It's a long story..."

* * *

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Haunter, Shadow Punch."

Ash waited.

Sabrina waited.

The crowd waited.

Nothing happened.

"Pikachu?"

"Pii..." it said, turning round and looking depressed.

"What's up, pal?"

Suddenly, Haunter soared towards Pikachu.

They stared at each other, Pikachu looking slightly apprehensive.

Once more, Haunter pulled one of its faces.

"HauntHauntHaunt!"

The crowd were now getting bored and a discontented murmuring began to spread around the stadium.

"Well, for some bizarre reason, these two Pokemon seem unwilling to battle one another!"

Ash looked at Pikachu.

"Is that the problem? You don't want to fight?"

"Pii..." it said sadly.

"Pikachu, return!"

Now the crowd started to boo Pikachu as it scampered back up the steps towards Ash.

"Right. Back to business! Go, Noctowl!"

Ash's Noctowl burst from its Pokeball, accompanied by a shower of stars.

The crowd instantly stopped booing as a loud "Oooh!" could be heard in response to seeing a shiny Pokemon.

* * *

"What do you mean, 'we were nearly trapped in her toy box forever?'"

"I know it sounds weird," said Brock, "but I'm telling you that's what happened."

* * *

"Haunter, use Mean Look."

Haunter stared menacingly at Noctowl, who recoiled.

The crowd applauded sarcastically. Ash suspected this was because he wasn't going to be able to switch Pokemon this time.

"Noctowl, Foresight!"

Noctowl's eyes flashed red, and everybody in the stadium knew that it would now be able to hit Haunter with all of its attacks, despite Haunter being a ghost.

"Hypnosis, Haunter."

"Fly right through the Hypnosis and use Tackle!"

Noctowl did this, and appeared unaffected by the sleep-inducing move, crashing into Haunter.

"Well, it looks like Ash's Noctowl must have the Insomnia ability," the announcer informed the spectators. "That means the Pokemon cannot be put to sleep. Excellent knowledge of his Pokemon demonstrated by Ash there."

The crowd applauded, making Ash feel pleased with himself. What was more, Haunter's defences weren't the best, and the fact that it had not been expecting to be hit had resulted in the Tackle attack doing more damage than usual.

"Okay, finish it, Noctowl! Confusion!"

"Destiny Bond," said Sabrina, a slight smile appearing on her normally impassive face.

Ash knew what was going to happen seconds before it did.

Noctowl threw Haunter against Sabrina's podium and Ash watched it slump to the ground. Noctowl gave an enormous screech before suffering the same fate.

"Both Haunter and Noctowl are unable to battle!" declared the referee.

* * *

Agatha was watching in the Trainers' Room.

"A clever move," she said to the young girl sitting next to her. "She may not be a Ghost Pokemon trainer but she knows how to utilise their strengths."

"Yeah."

"I just don't understand why Haunter and Pikachu wouldn't battle each other," said Agatha as Sabrina sent out Alakazam.

The young girl watched her old friend send out a Sceptile, before casting her mind back to that day in Lavender Town.

"It's a long story..."

* * *

_**NOTES:** So yeah. Ash is slightly ahead. Also a lot of references to the Saffron/Lavender arc of the Anime. And who was Agatha talking to? Pretty obvious, I suppose._

_Thanks for the review Dragonfire, but I'm afraid I've got (more than) enough OCs already, but I appreciate your interest._

_Although I can tell you Paul beat Lucian 6-3 in his Group 6 match, but Ritchie lost 6-4 to Lorelei in Group 11. I might put all the results up on my profile if I decide it's worth it._

_Unfortunately, I have exams the next two days and school again starting Monday so chapters won't be every night from now on. I'll try to make them regular though._

_Keep an eye on my profile for expected release dates anyone who's interested._

_Keep the reviews coming people :p  
_


	7. Sand and Mist

**Chapter Seven: Sand and Mist**

"Bullet Seed!"

"Use Psychic."

Sceptile shot a barrage of seeds towards Sabrina's Pokemon, only to find them returned at twice the speed by Alakazam's Psychic attack.

"Scept!" groaned Sceptile, as it was struck by its own attack.

"Sceptile! Try and shake the attack off! We're not gonna be able to attack from range so let's go at it with a Leaf Blade!"

Sceptile charged at Alakazam, who remained standing still, seemingly waiting for the attack. Sceptile had just raised its arms, which were glowing green in preparation for a Leaf Blade attack as Sabrina issued a command.

"Teleport."

Sceptile smashed its arm down into the base of Sabrina's podium, causing Ash's Pokemon to howl in pain. Alakazam had disappeared.

"Hit it from behind with Psycho Cut."

"Sceptile, turn round!"

Too late.

Alakazam had managed to hit its target with a powerful psychic attack. Sceptile was beginning to look groggy.

"Is this the end for Ash's Sceptile?" asked the announcer dramatically.

"We're not done yet! Sceptile use Agility!"

Sceptile began to speed round the stadium, but Ash could hear it panting in exhaustion every time it passed his podium.

"Future Sight."

Ash looked on as Alakazam looked to be in deep concentration, its eyes flashing blue, Sceptile still rushing round the arena.

Alakazam relaxed; nothing happened.

"Use Pound, Sceptile!"

"Tile!"

Sceptile sprang into the air and battered Alakazam with its tail.

"Kazam!"

Now it was Alakazam's turn to look hurt. Its poor defences had clearly let it down in the face of Sceptile's strong physical attack.

"One more attack should do it, Sceptile!" yelled Ash, amazed at the turnaround. "Use Leaf Blade!"

Sceptile strode towards Alakazam and raised its glowing green arm, ready to strike.

Suddenly there was a bright blue flash around Sceptile, obscuring Ash's Pokemon from vision. The noise from the crowd changed from loud conversation and cheering to an excited murmuring as the light subsided.

Ash gasped as he saw Sceptile was no longer standing.

"Sceptile is unable to battle!"

* * *

"What happened there?" asked Ritchie in amazement.

"That must have been Alakazam's Future Sight attack," said Brock grimly. "It never hits straight away, but when it does it rarely misses, no matter how fast the enemy is. Ash should've been prepared for that."

* * *

"What do you mean, 'we were nearly trapped in her toy box forever?'" asked Agatha.

"I know it sounds weird," said Misty, "but I'm telling you that's what happened."

* * *

"Okay, Pikachu, you're up again. Give it your best shot!"

"Pika!"

Pikachu raced onto the battlefield and glared at Alakazam, sensing that this was the same Pokemon that had beaten it all those years ago when it had been a Kadabra.

"Psychic."

Alakazam glared at Pikachu, lifting it into the air.

"Launch a Thunderbolt at it!"

"Teleport."

"Chuuuuuuuuu!"

Pikachu's Thunderbolt did not make contact with the psychic Pokemon as it had teleported out of harm's way. Pikachu, however, now not under the intense gaze of Alakazam, fell to the ground with a sickening crunch.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu managed to raise itself just in time to see Alakazam materialise in front of it.

"Psycho Cut."

"Get out of there! Agility!"

Pikachu sped away from the vicious slice aimed at its head.

"Okay, Alakazam's still weak from its battle with Sceptile. We just need to land some kind of hit."

Ash remembered when Pikachu had battled Kadabra back in Saffron City. Ash and Pikachu had tried to get around Kadabra's teleporting by filling the stadium with electricity, but Kadabra had sent it back at Pikachu.

However, Pikachu had new weapons available this time.

"Pikachu, fill the arena with a Thunder attack! Give it all you've got!"

Pikachu screwed up its face and sent bolts of thunder crashing down from the sky.

"Sent it back with Psychic."

Ash watched Alakazam focus all its concentration on controlling the lightning.

"Go straight into it with Volt Tackle!"

"PikaPikaPikaPikaPika!"

Pikachu crashed its electrically-charged skull into Alakazam's body, causing it to fall over, giving off sparks of static electricity.

"Alakazam is unable to battle!"

"Well, it looks like Pikachu was too clever for the super-intelligent Alakazam!" declared the announcer. "While Alakazam was concentrating on Pikachu's Thunder attack, the electric Pokemon was able to exploit Alakazam's inability to defend itself!"

Pikachu was panting as Sabrina reached for her final Pokemon.

* * *

"It's gonna be interesting to see who Sabrina has as her last Pokemon," said Ritchie excitedly. "I bet it's a powerful Psychic type!"

"I don't know," said Brock uneasily, "she's already used three psychic types. It might be a bit over the top to have four."

* * *

Sabrina threw her final Pokeball into the arena.

It burst open.

"And Sabrina has made a surprising choice here, revealing her final Pokemon to be Sandslash!"

* * *

"Sandslash?" said Misty incredulously. "Why would a psychic trainer use a Sandslash?"

"You'll find that all the trainers that are famous for specialising in a specific type abandon that in the Masters Tour," said Agatha. "Maybe that Sandslash was designed as a counter to Ash's Pikachu."

"You mean she was that worried about Ash using Pikachu?"

"You'd be surprised, Misty," said Agatha, smiling. "Ash has made quite a name for himself at all the Regional Conferences he's entered. And Pikachu's his signature Pokemon."

* * *

"Hmm... I wasn't expecting this," mused Ash. "Electric attacks are going to be useless as Sandslash is a ground type... use Quick Attack, Pikachu!"

Pikachu sped towards Sabrina's final Pokemon, ready to barge into it.

"Sandslash, use Crush Claw."

Just as Pikachu was about to make contact, Sandslash raised its claw and brought it down heavily on Pikachu's head.

"Pikachaaaaa!"

"Pikachu is unable to battle!"

Ash rushed down onto the battlefield to gather Pikachu up.

"You did great, Pikachu!" said Ash, smiling.

"Pii."

Pikachu sounded weak.

As Ash climbed the steps back up to his podium, he could hear the crowd chatting loudly in anticipation as the announcer spoke.

"So, after twenty-five minutes of epic battling, this second night-time time match is about to reach its conclusion. The winner will take second place in Group Thirteen, behind Agatha, who earlier beat Pryce by a margin of two Pokemon."

Ash raised his last Pokeball in the air and threw it.

"Donphan, I choose you!"

Donphan materialised on the battlefield and gave an enraged battle cry.

"So this match will be decided in a tussle between two ground-types!"

* * *

"Looks like the twerp's in trouble."

"Yeah, this match could go either way."

Meowth leaped into the air and slashed its claw across Jessie and James' faces.

"Aaaargh! My beautiful face!"

"Aaaargh! My even more beautiful face!"

"Are you guys gonna sit round here all evenin' watching da twoip get beat up by some psycho psychic trainer? We got woik to do!"

"Meowth! Stop getting so worked up about work!"

"Yeah, the boss has given us till the end of this tournament to swipe that machine."

Meowth slumped onto a chair, looking sulky, and joined Jessie and James in watching the TV.

* * *

"Sandslash, use Poison Sting."

"Defence Curl!"

Donphan rolled into a ball and successfully defended against the Poison Sting attack.

"Use Rollout, Sandslash."

"You use Rollout too!"

The two ground-types curled up and began gathering momentum as they rolled across the arena towards each other.

"It will be interesting to see which Pokemon has the higher attack power," commented the announcer.

As the two Pokemon drew nearer each other, Donphan appeared to be moving at a greater speed.

"Yes! Keep going, Donphan!" yelled Ash, in encouragement.

"Sandslash, change into a Rapid Spin."

Just as Donphan was about to crash into Sandslash, Sabrina's Pokemon began to spin on the spot, knocking Donphan out of its Rollout attack. Donphan was lying on its back, apparently unsure of what had just happened.

"Use Poison Sting again."

This time there was no defending against the venomous attack, and Ash could only watch as a patch of Donphan's body developed a purple tinge.

"Donphan, can you get up?"

Donphan apparently could. It raised its trunk aloft in fury at its opponent.

"Alright, charge with Take Down!"

* * *

"What's he doing?" exclaimed Brock.

"Why? Isn't Take Down a strong attack?" asked Ritchie.

"Yeah, but it also damages the user, and I don't think Ash wants Donphan to sustain too much unnecessary damage, especially with it being poisoned.

* * *

Donphan clattered into Sandslash, which appeared to take a fair amount of damage. However, Donphan was also wincing from the pain of its own attack combined with the poison.

"Sandslash, power up with Swords Dance."

Ash observed as Sandslash began some kind of ritual where it plucked two of its own quills and began waving them about as though they were swords.

"Well, it looks like Sandslash is raising its attack power! Perhaps it senses the final blow is near?"

"No chance!" yelled Ash at the loudspeaker system. "Donphan, we've got to end this before Sandslash can get another attack in. Go all-out with Hyper Beam!"

Donphan raised its trunk once more and prepared to launch a devastating attack.

"Sand-Attack."

Sandslash kicked up some sand off the ground just as Donphan unleashed a beam of bright orange energy.

The crowd gasped as the beam missed Sandslash by several feet and almost took out the front row of the stands.

"Well, Hyper Beam is never a fully accurate move, and Sandslash's Sand-Attack only further reduced its chances of hitting!"

Donphan was now panting, struggling to stay on all fours after having unleashed such a powerful attack. The poison was clearly taking its toll too, as Donphan's condition seemed to be getting worse with every passing second.

"Sandslash, walk right up to it."

"Well, would you look at this? Sabrina is boldly telling her Pokemon to stroll right up to the enemy! Of course, she knows that after a Hyper Beam attack, the user must recharge!"

Sandslash was standing over Donphan, watching its health being slowly drained away by the poison.

"Donphan get out of there!"

But Donphan could not move.

Ash looked up at Sabrina, who was as calm as ever.

"Use Crush Claw."

Ash watched in despair as Sandslash raised its claw and, just as it had done to Pikachu, brought it down heavily on Donphan's head.

Donphan collapsed.

The referee's flag was in the air.

"Donphan is unable to battle! Sabrina from Saffron City wins the match six-five!"

Ash could not believe it.

His hand was shaking as he recalled Donphan to its Pokeball.

His legs were shaking as he walked down the stairs into the arena.

Ash shook Sabrina's hand and was about to turn away before she spoke.

"I never properly thanked you for that Haunter, you know."

Ash managed to smile.

* * *

"And there it is, Politoed's Water Gun attack was too strong for Houndoom and the referee confirms that Misty from Cerulean City has shocked Flint of Sinnoh's Elite Four with a six-three victory! In the end their speciality types clashed too badly for Flint to take anything from this match."

Brock and Ritchie cheered as they heard the TV commentator announce this.

"And that is the thirty-second and final match of the day. The next round of matches will take place in two days' time, when we could have our first competitors to guarantee themselves a place in round 2, or also guarantee themselves elimination with a match to spare! Make sure and check the _Pokemon League Periodical_ tomorrow morning for a full round-up of the day's action!"

Brock turned to Ash.

"Cheer up, Ash. You should be happy for Misty. I mean, she's the only one out of the four of us that actually won."

Ritchie laughed; Ash said nothing.

"Come on, Ash. This is the first match of the first tournament! The most important thing is that you learn from the defeat and identify where you went wrong."

"Suppose," said Ash, shortly.

"Well, guess I'm gonna head off to bed," said Ritchie, yawning. "I've got a lot of preparation to do tomorrow for my match against Erika."

At the mention of Erika, the Celadon City Gym Leader, Brock's face lapsed into a dreamy smile.

Ash rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, good luck with the training, Ritchie. I hope we can both get through and battle later in the tournament!"

"Me too!" said Ritchie eagerly. "But I'm afraid the result's gonna be the same as last time!"

He walked off, leaving Ash suddenly re-energised.

"Alright, I'm gonna do nothing but train tomorrow!"

* * *

"Stop looking so smug, Rory," said Kevin irritably.

"Sorry, I can't help it. You see, it's just that I'm the only one that actually _won_ my match."

"Erm... hang on..." said Alice in mock concentration, "were you battling Lance, one of the favourites for the tournament? Oh no wait, you weren't."

"Yeah, you were just battling some random trainer from Pallet Town, wherever that is."

"You've seriously never heard of Pallet?" Rory asked Kevin, surprised.

"Well, I think I saw a trainer from there compete at our conference once..."

"Yeah, that was probably Ash Ketchum. He made the quarter finals, I think. Got beaten by Harrison."

"So I take it they're both here, are they?"

"Yep, they both lost. It sometimes seems like I'm actually the only trainer here that managed to win today..."

Kevin and Alice scowled.

* * *

"I think I'll join you in that training. I'm gonna need to if I stand any chance of beating Spenser," said Brock, thoughtfully.

"I'll have to think about my team to face Pryce as well. Might ask Agatha for a few pointers..."

At that moment, the door to the lounge opened and a girl walked in.

She had red hair with a ponytail tied up at the side. She was dressed in yellow and carried a red bag on her shoulder, which swung back and forward as she walked.

She stopped when she saw Ash and Brock sitting on the sofa.

"Pika!"

Pikachu, having been half asleep during most of the conversation, jumped of Ash's shoulder and bounded up to the newcomer.

"Hey, Pikachu!"

She stroked Pikachu's head before looking back up at Ash and Brock.

"Should be just like old times this, shouldn't it?" said Misty, grinning.

* * *

_**NOTES:** So yeah. Ash narrowly lost his opening match. Next up for him is Pryce. Misty won, mainly because of type advantage._

_Sorry it's been so long since the last update. I think until school breaks up for Summer it's gonna be one chapter a week._

_Keep the reviews coming though, I've enjoyed reading them._

_Like last time, I'll keep you updated on writing status over on my profile page.  
_


	8. Caught by Stealth

**Chapter Eight: Caught by Stealth**

**BRANDON SETS EARLY PACE IN FUCHSIA CLASSIC**

_Brandon began his Fuchsia Classic campaign with a thumping six-one win over Will in Group Six. The Pyramid King wowed the crowd by sweeping his opponent's team with only two Pokemon: Regice and Registeel. The home favourite, Koga, also got off to a winning start, beating Thorton six-three._

_The biggest shock of Day One came as Sinnoh Champion Cynthia lost out six-five in a close battle with Fantina of Hearthome City. She is now under threat of exiting the competition with two matches against Frontier Brains to come. For full match reports, see pages five through twenty-one._

"None of our matches got a mention," said Ash, disappointedly.

"Yeah, but they dedicate one page to each group if you read on," Brock reminded him.

"No time for that! Gotta get started with my training to face Pryce!"

"Calm down, Ash," said Misty, "you've only just had breakfast."

"Yeah, well I'm serious about winning! It's alright for you, you've already got three points. I don't have any."

"Do you know your team yet?" asked Brock.

"Yup. And I transferred them all over this morning."

"Awesome. Where are you going to train?"

"I was thinking just outside the Safari Zone. That's where most people seem to go."

"We'll have to go in there sometime," said Misty. "I love watching all the different Pokemon."

"Yeah, and maybe I could catch something new," said Ash eagerly.

"I think we should go after the group stages," said Brock. "There's a bit more of a break between matches then."

"But first, we need to make sure we qualify for the next round! Let's go train!"

Ash and Pikachu jumped up and ran out of the hotel, leaving Brock and Misty to catch up.

* * *

Despite it still being rather early, there were a great number of trainers gathered outside the Safari Zone, putting their Pokemon through their paces in preparation for the next round of matches. Ash noticed Alice, the girl he had spoken to before battling Sabrina, training with a couple of boys, one of whom Ash recognised as the trainer who had beaten Gary.

"Alright, let's get going!" said Ash to Pikachu.

Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, looking eager to begin.

Ash took five Pokeballs from his belt and threw them into the air. Tauros, Cyndaquil, Torkoal, Chimchar and Gliscor all appeared beside Pikachu.

"Okay guys, we've got a tough battle tomorrow night, and it's one we have to win. Can I count on you all?"

There were six cries of assent.

"Alright! Now, I realise some of you haven't had much battle experience lately, so I reckon we should spend a few hours working on our techniques today. Pikachu and Tauros, I want you two to battle each other; Cyndaquil, Torkoal and Chimchar, I want you guys to practise your fire attacks on each other; Gliscor, you come with me."

The five Pokemon obediently got to work as Gliscor soared alongside Ash.

"Okay Gliscor, how d'you feel about trying out something new?"

"Gliscor!"

"I was thinking that we could try learning how to use Stealth Rock. It should give us a big advantage over all Pryce's ice-types. Only thing is, I don't really know how to go about teaching it..."

"Oh don't worry about that, Ash."

Ash turned round to see Brock and Misty had caught up with him. Brock was looking up at Gliscor.

"I think I know the perfect person to help teach Gliscor Stealth Rock."

"Who?"

"You remember Roark, the Oreburgh City Gym Leader? He's famous for using that move."

"Awesome. Is he competing on the Tour?"

"Yep, I heard he won his opening match here."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go find him!"

"Ash!" said Misty indignantly. "We only just got here! I'm not running around after you all day, you know..."

"Well, I'm taking this tournament seriously and I need to teach Gliscor Stealth Rock!"

Misty opened her mouth, ready to retort, but Brock spoke first.

"Relax, guys, there's no need to have a go at each other. Ash, I'll come look for Roark with you. Misty, you don't have to come if you don't want to."

"I'm staying here," she said defiantly. "I have to train for my battle against Maylene."

"_Train?_" said Ash sceptically. "When have you ever _trained?_"

"Leave it, Ash," said Brock. "Let's go."

Ash looked over at his Pokemon. He saw that they had all stopped training to watch him arguing with Misty.

"Will you watch over them for me, Misty?"

"Hmph!"

Ash took that for a yes.

"Come on Pikachu, Gliscor, let's go!"

* * *

"Come on, Hitmonchan, put your back into it!"

"ChanChanMonchan!"

Hitmonchan began punching furiously.

"Grab it's arm, Primeape."

Primeape grabbed Hitmonchan's arm and swung up into the air.

"Chan?"

"Now Karate Chop its brain!"

Primeape's fist crunched into its opponent's head, causing it to faint.

"Nice one Rory," said Alice, grinning.

Kevin called Hitmonchan back, muttering to himself.

"Right, you next, Alice?" asked Rory. "You're gonna have your work cut out against Koga tomorrow."

* * *

"He says he'll be down in two minutes."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," said Ash, turning away from reception and walking towards the lounge. "Hey, Brock, I didn't know you could ask for a message to be sent to anyone's room like that."

Brock didn't reply.

"Brock?"

"Well if you're busy Friday we could always try Saturday? Only, if that's okay with you, Nurse Joy, of course."

"Oh great," said Ash, exasperated. "Gliscor, go fetch him."

Gliscor glided obediently over towards Brock, pinched his right ear and began dragging him away.

"Ouch! How about Sunday then?" he yelled desperately over his shoulder.

Ash rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Hey, look, it's da original Little Miss Twoip!"

"She must have been invited onto the Tour."

"Obviously by mistake. I'm sure her invitation was really supposed to go to me. I'm more skilled in battling. And I'm better looking," she added as an afterthought.

James whispered something to Meowth behind Jessie's back.

"I heard that! If you two don't watch out I'll push you both off this tree!"

"I still don't see why we had to come up here," moaned James. "I don't like heights."

Jessie rounded on him.

"What are you talking about? You fly in a balloon every day!"

"Yes, but in the balloon I'm not usually so... you know... horizontal."

* * *

The young man smiled behind his square glasses.

"Well, you've certainly asked the right person. I've developed a technical machine that can help Pokemon master Stealth Rock instantly!"

"I knew we could count on you, Roark," said Brock, grinning.

"Now normally I'd ask for payment for this," said Roark, surveying Ash, "but since you're a friend of Brock's you can have it for free! We rock Pokemon trainers are always happy to help each other out, right Brock?"

"Right!" he replied enthusiastically. Ash grinned broadly.

"The only thing I'd ask..."

Ash's grin faded slightly.

"...is that if we should ever come face to face during this Tour, you don't use your Gliscor against me. I don't want to go harming my own chances of winning, even if I do want to help a friend."

Ash looked at Brock, who nodded.

"That seems like a fair deal to me. Don't worry Ash, if you do ever battle Roark, you've got plenty of other Pokemon you can use."

"Yeah, you're right, Brock. So can you teach my Gliscor Stealth Rock, please, Roark?"

Roark smiled and pulled a light brown object resembling a CD out of his pocket.

"I certainly can!"

* * *

Misty sat, picking moodily at the grass. She wished she'd gone with the others. Why had she been so stubborn? That was usually Ash's job.

A blast of fire suddenly singed her hair.

"Watch where you're aiming, Torkoal!"

"Torkoooooooooooooooaaaal!"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry..."

Misty tried to ignore Torkoal's constant sobbing and continued thinking about Ash, Brock and Pikachu. The last few years really hadn't been the same without them.

"Pika!"

Misty looked round.

"Ash!" she said, hurriedly scrambling for a Pokeball. "I've just taken a break from training. I was—oh! Hey Ritchie!"

"Hi, Misty! How's it going?"

* * *

"Aha! Now there's two of them!"

"Right," said Jessie, taking charge. "We need to distract all the trainers, then while everyone's looking the other way—"

"We swipe da twoip's Pikachu!" finished Meowth gleefully.

"And I think I know the perfect diversion plan," said James, lifting a Pokeball from his belt. "I'm so glad you came back to me... I thought you'd forgotten me..."

"Stop being sentimental! Let's get this show on the road!"

* * *

"Nah, I lost my opener," said Ritchie, shaking his head. "I thought Lorelei was a pretty rough first opponent to get landed with though. I saw your match with Flint. You really overpowered him!"

"I was lucky really," said Misty, shrugging. "I just wish I could face a fire-type trainer in every match. By the way, have you spoken to Ash at all since—what's going on?"

A thick cloud of black smoke was spreading from over by a clump of trees, eclipsing the midday sun. Trainers began to recall their Pokemon and run back towards the city centre.

"I can't see a thing! Ritchie are you there?"

"Yeah, I can barely see you though!"

"Ouch!"

Someone had just collided into Misty, knocking her to the ground. Misty could just make out that it was a girl with red hair, similar to hers, but much longer.

"Sorry!" said the girl. "I couldn't see a thing!"

She continued running along with all the other trainers, leaving Misty slightly annoyed that she hadn't bothered to help her up.

"This is getting ridiculous," said Ritchie, producing a Pokeball. "Rose, let's go! Whirlwind!"

Ritchie's Taillow beat its wings furiously. Causing the smoke to clear slightly.

All the trainers had gone, apart from himself and Misty, still on the ground. Misty looked up anxiously to make sure Ash's Pokemon were all still there. Tauros... Torkoal... Chimchar... Cyndaquil...

She flopped onto her back, relieved.

"I'm glad that's over. I wonder where all the smoke came from. What d'you think Ritchie?"

"Sparky..."

"What?"

"Sparky's missing!"

* * *

"Ooooooooooh, aren't we clever!"

"Well, this plan was my idea, James."

"But if it wasn't for Weezing and me, you wouldn't have had a diversion!"

"Weezingwee!"

The three of them continued running along towards another group of trees.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway, we've got Pikachu."

Jessie gave the insulated cage containing the Pikachu a shake, smiling evilly.

"Don't get too excited," Meowth warned them.

"But we've actually caught the twerp's Pikachu for once! Why shouldn't we be excited?"

"Dat's not da twoip's Pikachu."

THUD!

Jessie had crashed straight into a tree.

"It's... not... the twerp's?" she asked dazedly. "How can you tell?"

"I'm a Pokemon," he replied simply.

* * *

"I'm starting to think I know what's going on," said Misty. "I've seen a cloud of disgusting black smoke followed by a disappearing Pikachu plenty of times before. Team Rocket's behind this!"

"You're probably right... I've run into them already. Why are they in Fuchsia anyway? They're not on the Tour are they?"

"They always follow Ash around, so it makes sense for them to be here really."

"Let's go looking for them then!"

"Right!"

* * *

"Well what should we do with it then?"

"Keep it of course! A Pikachu's still a Pikachu."

They all watched Sparky's useless attempts to break the cage with its electric attacks.

"Ha! I can't believe it thinks we would have forgotten to protect the cage against electric attacks!"

"Doesn't it realise that we're professional Pika-thieves?"

"Just think how many battles we could win with this Pikachu!"

James looked slightly apprehensive, twiddling his thumbs.

"But... shouldn't we give it to the boss?"

Jessie and Meowth rounded on him.

"Are you mad? This could be the key to our success!"

"Jessie's right. And besides, da boss isn't interested in petty Pokemon like dis anymore. He wants us to steal da machine from da Safari Zone so dat he can—"

"Team Rocket!"

Jessie, James and Meowth jumped and turned around.

"Give back that Pikachu!"

"PiPikachu!"

"GliGliscor!"

Ash and Brock were standing, arms folded, alongside Pikachu and Gliscor.

"Ah..." said Jessie.

"Oh dear..." said James.

"Maybe we should..."

"Run!"

Ash and Brock were taken by surprise as Jessie, James and Meowth suddenly pelted away, taking Sparky with then.

"Hey! Come back!"

"Be seein' ya!" yelled Meowth.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"

"Piiikaaachuuuuuuuuuuu!"

The fleeing trio were jolted by Pikachu's attack, but kept on running.

"I'm afraid that's not going to work!" yelled Jessie happily over her shoulder.

"Yeah, we're wearing special shock-resistant suits!"

"I've got mine in cat size!"

Ash and Brock sprinted off in pursuit of Team Rocket, Pikachu running alongside them while Gliscor soared above.

"It's no good!" shouted Brock. "They're faster than us! We've got to stop them quickly or they'll get away!"

Ash gritted his teeth as he ran, trying to think of a way to stop Team Rocket from getting too far ahead.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed suddenly. "Gliscor, use Stealth Rock!"

"Gliiiiiiiscor!"

Gliscor put on a burst of speed in an attempt to catch up with Team Rocket.

"Huh?" said Jessie, glancing back. "What's it doing?"

Gliscor's face was screwed up in concentration as several large pointed stones materialised around its body. With a wave of its pincers, it sent the rocks towards its target. They formed a ring which spun as it descended over Team Rocket, causing the three members to skid to a halt in order to prevent coming into contact with the sharp stones.

"Good work, Gliscor!"

"Gli!"

"Alright, Team Rocket, the game's up," said Brock, walking up to Jessie, James and Meowth, who were looking dejected. "Now, hand over that Pikachu!"

"Why don't you make us?" countered Jessie, suddenly re-energised.

"Your Pikachu can't touch us in these suits!"

"Maybe not," said a voice from behind Team Rocket, "but these guys can!"

"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Quuuuiiiiiiiiiil!"

"Koooooooooaaaaal!"

Three blasts of fire; three melted suits.

"Looks like they've lost their protection," said Misty, smiling.

"It's down to you now, Ash!"

"Awesome, guys! Okay Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Jessie, James and Meowth huddled together, bracing themselves for the shock.

"Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"

"And now for the finishing touch! Gliscor, get rid of the Stealth Rock!"

Gliscor obliged.

"Tauros, Take Down!"

Tauros charged from behind Misty and Ritchie, staring right at the dazed trio.

"Looks like..."

Tauros was getting closer.

"Dis is da time when we..."

It was right in front of them.

"Blast off!"

Tauros collided into the huddle of bodies, sending all three high up into the sky and away into the distance. The cage containing Sparky flew up in an arc and landed right in Ritchie's arms. He twisted the dome-shaped top away from the base, allowing Sparky to leap out onto the grass.

"Pika!" it said happily.

"Chu!" agreed Pikachu.

"I'm afraid you guys are gonna have to get used to this kind of ordeal again," said Brock, laughing. "I think we've brought Team Rocket along on the Tour."

The Tour. These two words sent thrills coursing through Ash's body. He had been under-prepared in his first match and been defeated. But he was little over a day away from the chance to get his Fuchsia Classic campaign back on track. This match was going to be different.

He was ready.

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. I have updated for the first time in six months because I'm cool._

_Next chapter should focus on Ash vs Price._

_I'd greatly appreciate reviews/feedback/questions/all the rest of it. If you want more details of all the groups I can provide them.  
_


	9. The Second Battle

**Chapter Nine: The Second Battle**

"Geodude is unable to battle!"

Ash and Misty groaned.

"His team just isn't strong enough to take on a Frontier Brain," said Gary, watching Spenser's Shiftry do some kind of war dance on the battlefield.

* * *

"At four-zero down, Brock will have to get going quickly in order to ensure he avoids total embarrassment here!" commented the announcer.

"Crobat! Let's go!"

Crobat let out a screech as it was released from its Pokeball.

"Dive in with a Wing Attack!"

* * *

Rory was walking back to the hotel, alongside a small girl with shoulder-length, dark hair.

"Looks like we can both take it easy in our last match then, right?"

"When have you ever seen me take a Pokemon battle easy, Rory?"

Rory looked sideways at his companion and saw a small smile play across her face.

"Oh, come on... you're already through, Ruth! You've won both of your matches and, because of the way the fixtures panned out, the two guys with three points still have to play each other, meaning you can't be knocked out!"

"One of them's a girl."

"Whatever."

* * *

"Well it looks like Shiftry, who succeeded in taking out four of Brock's Pokemon, was unable to last any longer and Crobat has restored some pride to the scoreline for Brock!"

Spenser threw his next Pokeball, which burst open to reveal...

"Would you look at this? We have a Crobat versus Crobat situation, ladies and gentleman!"

* * *

"Awesome!" yelled Ash. "It's not every day you see two of the same species pitted against each other in an official tournament!"

"Yeah," agreed Misty, "it should be interesting to see how well Brock's raised his Crobat compared to Spenser."

Gary sat with his arms folded.

"Even if Brock has raised his Crobat really well, I think its lack of competitive battling experience is going to be a telling factor."

"Why d'you always have to be so negative, Gary?" asked Ash, rounding on his former rival.

"I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic."

"And because you won your match this morning you're an expert all of a sudden?"

Gary raised his eyebrows.

"Ash, take it easy. I know you're nervous for your match against Pryce tonight, but—"

"I'm not nervous!"

Gary smirked and opened his mouth to retort.

"Give it a rest, Gary," said Misty shortly, causing both boys to look around at her in surprise.

* * *

Having spent a good few minutes trading blows, the two Crobat had both been severely weakened, although neither seemed to be able to take a significant lead in the duel.

Brock was deep in thought. If he and Spenser kept on like this, both Crobat would be likely to faint at the same time which, if he was honest with himself, would favour Spenser a lot more than him. Losing Crobat would leave Brock with only Croagunk left, surely giving him no chance of winning. He had to hang on to Crobat as long as possible.

"Crobat, just keep doing what you're doing!" yelled Spenser. "Go in with another Wing Attack!"

Brock reacted quickly, a plan occurring to him.

"Crobat, dodge!"

Brock's Crobat flew out the way just in time, narrowly avoiding its adversary's sharp wing.

"Well, Brock took a risk there! For the first time in this mini battle, the two trainers have not issued the same commands. If Spenser's Crobat had landed a blow it would have been given the initiative. What does Brock have planned?

"Crobat, use Return!"

Spenser reacted immediately.

"You too, Crobat!"

The two bat Pokemon flew at each other, fangs bared, and collided in the centre of the arena. Both Pokemon fell to the ground. Only one got back up.

"Spenser's Crobat is unable to battle!"

* * *

"Return?" said Ash quizzically.

"You really need to take time out from battling to study Pokemon and their abilities, Ash," said Gary, sighing. "Return can be learned by pretty much any Pokemon, and it's more powerful if the Pokemon has a good bond with its trainer."

"So Brock must have raised his Crobat more lovingly than Spenser," concluded Misty, watching Brock smiling proudly at Crobat's efforts.

"I didn't know his Crobat could use that move," said Ash, wide-eyed. "He must have been training hard."

The three of them watched as Spenser sent out his third Pokemon. They groaned in unison.

Slaking.

* * *

"Hey guys," said Kevin.

"Hi," replied Rory and Ruth.

Alice was standing a few feet away, talking to her Pokemon.

"She's taking this match against Koga tonight really seriously, isn't she?" said Rory.

"And so she should be," said Ruth. "She got drawn in the hardest group. At least she's got the match with Lance out the way. If she wins tonight she's still got a fair chance of progressing to the knockout stages."

Kevin suddenly scowled.

"I see you two have already qualified. You're lucky you got such easy groups."

"Or maybe we're just better than you, Kev, " said Rory, grinning. "To be fair, your group's hardly something to be frightened by, is it? Volkner, Whitney and Bugsy? I was expecting you to beat Volkner, to be honest."

"I think you need to raise a few more Pokemon, Kevin," said Ruth. "To be honest, I think a team of eight is going to struggle to keep you in the tour for next year. You know, you have to finish in the top fifty-six at the end of the season to be absolutely sure of avoiding relegation."

"Don't worry, Ruth, I'll beat Whitney tonight. I'm confident."

* * *

"Poison Jab again, Croagunk!"

Croagunk's continued attacks were clearly causing Slaking discomfort, but Slaking seemed too lazy to attack it back.

"Well, the question here is, after having defeated Crobat, can Slaking be bothered battling Croagunk to win his trainer the three points?"

Spenser looked up at the loudspeaker and smiled.

Brock saw the smile and didn't like it. Spenser must know that Slaking was about to attack.

"Okay, Croagunk, let's try one more Poison Ja—"

"Hyper Beam!"

Suddenly, displaying agility that had seemed non-existent until this point, Slaking gave a roar, jumped to its feet and sent a beam of orange energy at Croagunk. There was no real need for the referee to inform the spectators of the outcome.

"Croagunk is unable to battle! Spenser from Metallica Island wins the match six-two!"

* * *

It was evening.

Ever since his defeat by Spenser earlier that morning, Brock had been feeling very down. Apart from the fact that he had been badly beaten, Brock was knowledgeable enough to know that, because Anabel had beaten Sean in the match which followed his, he was no longer able to qualify for the second round.

"Oh come on, Brock," said Misty, "cheer up! You've still got another match to come. You need to go out there and show everyone why you're here!"

"But didn't you see how easily Spenser ripped my team apart? I did well to beat his Shiftry and Crobat, but then he just threw another really powerful Pokemon at me."

"But like you said, you did well to beat Shiftry and Crobat."

"I only have eight Pokemon that can actually battle. There's no way my team has enough strength to beat trainers as tough as Anabel and Spenser on an almost daily basis."

"Well," said Misty, continuing her attempts at cheering her friend up, "if it's any consolation, I've got the same problem."

Brock merely grunted.

"Ash, I could use a little help here!" said Misty, angrily. "Stop being so self-centred!"

Ash looked up.

"Misty, my match starts in half an hour! I've got other things on my mind right now."

He turned to Brock.

"Sorry, Brock, I need to go to the Trainers' Room."

"I understand, Ash. I'll be there to watch you. Good luck."

Ash thanked Brock before leaving the room with Pikachu.

There were a couple of minutes of silence before Gary spoke up.

"You know, Brock, I think you're being too hard on yourself. You and Misty—and I'm not trying to put you down here or anything—but you two realistically are going to find it difficult to finish the season in the top sixteen and qualify for the Masters Cup. What you need to concentrate on is making sure you keep your place on the Tour next season."

Misty's face fell as she realised that Gary was perfectly right in saying this. Brock looked up.

"You're right, Gary, but it's easy for you to say that. You can go out and give guys like Spenser a really good battle, and stand a fair chance of winning. Misty and I go into virtually every match knowing we're the underdog. When you know there's only a select few trainers you can realistically beat, it's hard to keep motivated for all these matches."

"Maybe so, but remember Brock, every match counts towards your ranking points, even the margin of victory or defeat counts towards your position. It's guys like Sean, your next opponent, that you need to beat in order to make sure you don't finish in the bottom eight and get relegated to the Junior Tour."

"But wait," said Misty, puzzled. "I thought the leaflet said sixteen trainers get relegated?"

"Yeah," said Brock, seeming to perk up a little as he launched into his old habit of explaining rules to his younger friends, "but the sixteen trainers who finish above the bottom eight all go into play-off matches and only half of them stay on the Tour for the next season."

"So really, if you finish in that group of players, your performances up until that point don't matter any more? It's just one match to determine whether you stay or go?"

"That's right," said Brock. "It's all or nothing."

* * *

"Well hello again, Ash!"

Ash withdrew his hand from the door to his dressing room and saw Agatha standing behind him, smiling.

"Hey, Agatha!" said Ash, enthusiastically. "Are you ready for Sabrina?"

"Oh, I think so. And are you ready for Pryce?"

"You bet I am!" he said, pumping his fist in anticipation. "I'm psyched, my Pokemon are psyched... I can't lose!"

"Ahh, oh to be young again and have such spectacular levels of self-belief. Just watch that doesn't turn to arrogance, Ash. Remember, if you lose tonight and I beat Sabrina, your tournament will be over."

With that, Agatha walked away.

* * *

"Pryce from Mahogany Town against Ash from Pallet Town. Select your first Pokemon!"

The two trainers lobbed Pokeballs from their podiums, each causing a red flash to join the floodlights in illuminating the arena.

"Quagsire!"

"I choose you, Gliscor!"

"Looking at this initial matchup, you would have to favour Quagsire," said the announcer. "Although Pryce will be wishing he had started with a trademark ice type, given the type combination of Gliscor."

"Gliscor, you know what to do! Stealth Rock!"

Gliscor sent a ring of pointed stones up to float halfway between Pryce's podium and the arena floor. Any Pokemon Pryce sent out from now on would be hurt by the rocks.

"Quagsire, use Bubblebeam!"

Quagsire sent a jet of bubbles skywards at such speed that Gliscor was unable to avoid them.

"That's a direct hit on Gliscor there! Was Ash wise in sacrificing an opportunity to land some damage on Quagsire in favour of setting up for later in the battle?"

* * *

"I think he was," said Brock to Misty and Gary. "Pryce is bound to have a few ice types in his team, and Stealth Rock hits twice as hard against them."

"That was really good thinking of him to teach Gliscor Stealth Rock, wasn't it?" said Misty, excitedly. "He'd studied his opponent and thought up a good strategy."

Gary said nothing, but watched Gliscor landing an X-Scissor attack on Quagsire.

"I'm surprised Ash is sticking with Gliscor," admitted Brock. "I don't know how many water attacks it can take. Mind you, I suppose he knows that it's better fighting a water type now than an ice type later on."

"And Gliscor's much faster than Quagsire," said Misty as Gliscor dodged a Water Gun attack.

They could see Gliscor dive towards its opponent once more and land another powerful X-Scissor on Quagsire's slimy body.

"I think that's done it!" exclaimed Brock. "Yes! The referee's flag's up! It's one-up for Ash!"

* * *

"So then I decided that, really, a better way of proving who was better would be an arm wrestle," Rory told Ruth, "and needless to say I won with ease."

"You were such a coward!" said Kevin, trying not to laugh. "You knew you weren't going to beat me in a Pokemon battle!"

"Come on, Kev, you've not beaten me in a Pokemon battle since before my Poliwhirl evolved. No way were you gonna win..."

"Well then, why would you refuse a battle? You were scared. I was on fire at that point. Getting three badges in a week was some achievement. My Aggron was untouchable."

"It's not like you to pass up the chance to battle," said Ruth, grinning at Rory. "I think Kevin's right, you must've been scared..."

"No way!" said Rory incredulously. "I just thought it would make a nice change to have a contest of raw strength instead."

Alice, who had not said a word during this argument, suddenly got to her feet.

"I don't know how you can stand those two, Ruth. They're like two annoying little brothers or something."

"Hey, I'm older than you!" said Rory indignantly.

Alice scowled at him and Kevin before leaving the room.

"I should really join her actually," said Kevin hurriedly. "It's not that long till my match."

Rory smirked as Kevin ran out the door after Alice, knowing that there were likely to be a couple of hours before his match with Whitney began.

* * *

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"Cloyster is unable to battle!"

"Well, it looks like Ash's decision to switch out Gliscor was a good one. Pikachu's power plus a type advantage really put Cloyster to the sword!"

"Go, Piloswine!"

The hairy ice type gave a snort of pain as it materialised in the arena: it had clearly been hurt by the Stealth Rock.

"Pikachu, return!" said Ash, confidently.

"Well," said the announcer as Pikachu scampered up the steps to Ash's podium, "that's Ash's second switchout already! If he does that again he may well find the crowd turns on him, which is never a pleasant thing!"

"Good job, buddy, but you can't take on a part ground type."

"Pii," said Pikachu sadly.

"Tauros, I choose you!"

Tauros took to the arena and began sizing up Piloswine, kicking up dust from the ground.

"Piloswine, Blizzard!"

Having only just switched Pokemon, Ash was unable to order an immediate counter, so he had to watch and wait as Tauros was buffeted by a violent snowstorm. However, its skin was more than strong enough to stand up to that kind of attack.

"Alright, well done, Tauros! Now, Horn Attack!"

Tauros careered towards its opponent, letting out an almighty roar.

"Use Earthquake, Piloswine!"

Piloswine stamped the ground, which began to shake, causing Tauros to go slightly off track. Nevertheless, its horn still made contact with Piloswine, causing the swine Pokemon to let out a squeal of pain. Tauros managed to keep its balance, despite the trembling earth.

"Alright! Now, use Take Down!"

As Tauros was no longer standing by Ash's podium, it did not take so long to land the attack, eliminating any chance for Pryce and Piloswine to counter.

The weight behind Tauros' attack seemed to be too much for Piloswine, as it did not recover from being knocked into the base of Pryce's podium.

"Piloswine is unable to battle!"

The crowd applauded, although they did not seem to be particularly engaged in the match.

"Well, this match is becoming a little one-sided, folks! Who will Pryce turn to now?"

"Dewgong!"

Once again, Pryce's Pokemon appeared in the arena under clear discomfort. The Stealth Rock was doing its job.

* * *

"Ash is negotiating this battle so well," said Brock in admiration. "Using Stealth Rock has completely swung the match in his favour. He knows that he can switch out if he wants and not worry about his opponent getting a free attack since the Stealth Rock damage effectively acts as an attack anyway."

"Right," said Gary. "And he also knows that Pryce can't really switch out at all or he'll both gift Ash an extra move _and_ his next Pokemon will take extra damage from Stealth Rock."

"He's bound to win now," said Misty. "Even Ash couldn't throw an opportunity like this away!"

* * *

"Are you nervous?"

Kevin and Alice were sitting on a bench at the side of the Trainers' Room, looking up at the large TV screen in the corner of the room.

"A little," said Alice as she watched Ash's Tauros collide with Dewgong.

"It'll be cool to battle in front of a packed stadium though, won't it? The stadium only ever seems to be half full unless Koga's battling."

"Right, but every single person in the packed stadium will be rooting for Koga."

Kevin had no answer to this, so he turned back to the TV in time to see the referee raise his flag and pronounce Dewgong unable to battle.

* * *

"Well, Pryce has chosen Jynx as his fifth Pokemon, but surely Ash's four-zero lead is unassailable!"

"Okay Tauros, just keep on going! Take Down!"

Tauros was panting as it galloped towards Jynx.

"JynxJynx!"

Pryce's Pokemon protested as Tauros' head was planted into its midriff.

"Keep calm, Jynx! Ice Punch!"

Jynx raised its hand, which began to freeze as it powered up its attack.

However, before it could even bring its palm down on Tauros, the bull fainted.

"Tauros is unable to battle!"

"Well, would you believe it? Tauros is down and out, and Jynx hasn't even touched it! This is a reminder to all trainers to use Take Down with caution, as it damages the user as well as the receiver!"

Ash recalled Tauros, smiling at the Pokeball.

"You did great, Tauros! You took out two Pokemon and really weakened Jynx! And now, I choose you, Chimchar!"

* * *

"Hey!" said a voice.

"PikaPi!"

"Oh, hi, Ritchie," said Brock. "Where have you been all evening? I saw your match against Erika on TV."

"Yeah," said Ritchie gloomily as he sat down next to Misty. "I needed some time to myself. I didn't react to well to losing, to be honest. I got pretty down on myself."

"You weren't the only one," said Misty in an undertone, glancing surreptitiously at Brock.

"I saw that Ash was winning. How's his battling been in general?"

"Excellent," said Gary unexpectedly, causing Brock and Misty to look at him in surprise. "He's really starting to plan matches before he goes into them rather than just going out there and thinking on his feet."

"Awesome!" said Ritchie, as he watched the referee declare Jynx unfit to continue battling. "I think I could do with taking a leaf out of his book."

* * *

"Okay," said Pryce, extending his left arm and throwing his final Pokeball into the arena. "You're my last chance, Girafarig!"

"And Pryce elects his final Pokemon! Can Ash's Chimchar wrap up this match, or will Pryce's Girafarig be able to prolong the battle?"

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar shot a ring of fire at Girafarig.

"Try and dodge, Girafarig!"

Girafarig leaped to the side, showing surprising athleticism.

"Now, Psybeam!"

"Chaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Ash winced as Chimchar was hit in the face by the Psybeam attack.

"Are you alright, Chimchar?"

"Cha!"

"Alright! Try an Ember this time!"

"Dodge!"

Again, Girafarig effortlessly bounded aside to avoid Chimchar's attack.

"Follow up with Stomp!"

Girafarig jumped into the air, preparing to come crashing down on top of Chimchar.

"Use Dig!" said Ash wildly, praying that Chimchar would be able to burrow into the ground before Girafarig made contact.

Almost.

Chimchar's right ear was clipped by Girafarig's hoof as it disappeared underground. However, it seemed that no significant damage had been done.

"Watch out, Girafarig! It could come up anywhere!"

Girafarig looked around, a panicked expression on its face.

"Chaaaaaaaaaa!"

Chimchar shot up right underneath its adversary, knocking it to the ground.

"Girafarig!"

"Alright! Now climb onto its back!"

"And Ash orders his Pokemon to mount Girafarig's back! What is he planning here?"

Chimchar obeyed Ash, and clutched onto Girafarig's neck as it stood up.

"Try and shake it off!" Ordered Pryce.

"Hold on tight, Chimchar! Use Ember!"

Chimchar sent a fiery blast into the back of Girafarig's neck, causing a yelp of agony.

"Well, it seems Ash made a wise move in sending Chimchar onto Girafarig's back as it can no longer dodge its attacks!"

"Keep trying to shake it off, Girafarig!" yelled Pryce, despairingly.

"Not gonna happen! Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"

"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

An anguished cry preceded Girafarig's fall to the ground. It appeared that this attack had been too powerful.

Chimchar backflipped off Girafarig's back, looking very pleased with itself.

The referee rushed over to inspect Girafarig.

"Girafarig is unable to battle! Ash from Pallet Town wins the match six-one!"

Chimchar cantered up the steps towards Ash and leaped into his arms.

"ChaChaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Alright Chimchar, you were awesome!"

"PiPikachu!"

Ash felt as though his tournament had finally got going. He may have let himself down against Sabrina, but now he was in the mood to take on anyone.

"Agatha had better be ready for us! Because she's not gonna have an easy battle!"

* * *

_**NOTES:** So yeah. Ash gets his campaign back on track with a convincing win over Pryce; Agatha is next.  
_

_As always, reviews are very welcome. I'm particularly interested to know how you think I'm handling the battles. I hope you can appreciate that  
when you have so many major characters (Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary, Ritchie, Rory, Kevin, Alice and Ruth, to name just some) it's impossible  
to include all the battles, time-consuming and sometimes repetitive as they are. I intend in the future to continue featuring only the most important  
battles, using the cutting between viewpoints style I have done so far, which helps break the monotony, in my opinion._

_But yeah, I really would like to hear what you think about how I'm selecting and writing the battles._

_Of course, should you want to know any results that were not mentioned in this chapter, I will happily oblige._

_And finally, special thanks to Fire Drastar for giving me some extremely helpful advice :)  
_


	10. Predictions and Permutations

**Chapter Ten: Predictions and Permutations**

**KOGA AMONGST ELEVEN TO SECURE QUALIFICATION**

_Local favourite Koga ensured qualification for the next round of the Fuchsia Classic with a thrilling 6-5 victory over Alice from Cherrygrove City. Koga's closing match against Lance will now determine which trainer finishes top of the group as both have won their opening two matches. Steven has also qualified with a match to spare; Cynthia's fate hate hangs in the balance after drawing with Noland. For a full round-up of the matches and a low-down on 'who has to do what' in the final group battles to qualify, see pages five through twenty-one._

Immediately, Ash tore through the pages of the _Periodical_ until he found group thirteen.

_ **Group 13**_

_Agatha: **6** points (tie-break score: 3)_

_Ash: __**3** points (tie-break score: 4)_

_Sabrina: __**3** points (tie-break score: 0)_

_Pryce: __**0** points (tie-break score: -7)_

_Upcoming Fixtures:_

_Pryce vs Sabrina_

_Agatha vs Ash_

_Analysis:_

_**Pryce** from Mahogany Town has not started the competition well, and now finds his route to the second round to be almost impossible. He will have to beat Sabrina by a margin of 6-0 and hope that Agatha defeats Ash by the same scoreline, such are the current tie-break scores. **Agatha **holds the best position in the group, only needing a draw against Ash to progress. However, even if she does lose, she is only under threat of exiting the competition if Sabrina beats Pryce. It would then come down to the margins of her defeat and Sabrina's victory to determine which of the Kanto ladies would advance along with Ash. It is almost certain that **Sabrina **will have to avoid defeat against Pryce to qualify, although a 6-4 defeat and a 6-0 win for Agatha would actually see her progress over Ash on the head-to-head ruling. A 6-3 win or better for Sabrina would guarantee that she finishes above either Ash or Agatha, whereas any other kind of victory would leave her relying on the result between Ash and Agatha to favour her. And finally, **Ash **knows that any kind of win against Agatha would see him overtake the ghost trainer and therefore seal his place in the knockout stages. A draw, or even a defeat, could still suffice should Sabrina not do what is necessary against Pryce._

"I didn't understand a word of that," said Ash, looking expectantly at Brock.

Brock rolled his eyes before replying.

"You don't really need to know any of that stuff, Ash. The only important detail is that if you beat Agatha, you're through. If you don't, you'll have to hope that Sabrina's match against Pryce helps you out a little. They're battling before you tomorrow night anyway, so you'll have a slight advantage in knowing exactly what you have to do once they're done."

"I can't believe my match is the very last of the entire group stages," grumbled Misty. "Nobody will even be in the stadium, they'll all be celebrating getting through or already on their way out of Fuchsia."

"You know, I still say you put up a good fight last night, Misty," said Brock. "A six-four defeat to Maylene isn't really that bad at all. If you can beat Heather you'll stand a really good chance of going through."

"I've never even met Heather before," said Misty. "I've got no idea what kind of Pokemon she uses."

"Hey guys, look at this!"

Ash was pointing to an advertisement on the back page of the paper.

**CAPTURE RARE POKEMON AT FUCHSIA'S SAFARI ZONE**

_With the group stages of the Fuchsia Classic drawing to a close tomorrow, it is inevitable that 32 competitors will have to exit the tournament—but that is no reason to leave the city! The day after the first stage of the tournament ends, Fuchsia's Safari Zone will be extending an open invitation to Pokemon trainers to enter a Pokemon-catching competition. A wide variety of Pokemon inhabit the area and organisers are looking to award first prize to the trainer who captures the most interesting Pokemon. This prize will be the extremely rare machine that teaches Pokemon Surf—a very useful move both in and out of battle. Interested trainers should congregate outside the Safari Zone at 3pm on the day which follows the conclusion of the group stage matches._

"Sounds like fun!" said Misty and Brock together.

* * *

"Fun?" said Jessie, glowering at James. "Didn't you read it properly?"

She thrust the _Periodical_ in James' face.

"Look there: _'This prize will be the extremely rare machine that teaches Pokemon Surf'. _Does that remind you of anything?"

James' face lit up.

"Oooh! It's the machine the boss wants us to steal!"

"But now der ain't no reason to steal it! All we gotta do is win da competition!"

"But Meowth... there's no way we'll win this competition."

"Yeah, we're no good at catching Pokemon."

"Well, we're gonna give it a try. And if we mess up..." Meowth grinned mischievously. "I've got a poifect backup plan!"

* * *

Ash, Misty and Brock spent most of the day relaxing around the city. As it was the day before a hugely important battle, Ash would normally have been hard at work training, but he felt confident. What's more, he didn't want to exhaust his Pokemon, particularly Pikachu who would be contesting its third major battle in five days tomorrow.

It was getting dark as the trio made their way back to the hotel, having enjoyed the chance to have an easy day.

"I feel pretty bad not training," said Brock ruefully. "I can't help thinking about what Gary was saying yesterday. My match against Sean tomorrow is actually really important in terms of the rankings. Maybe I should have put in a bit more effort today."

"If anyone should be feeling bad it's me," said Misty. "I've got a real chance of getting through to the knockout round and that's not something that I'm going to be able to do that often. I should have prepared more as well."

Ash felt relaxed, despite his friends' concerns.

"I dunno guys, I reckon we deserved the day off. Anyway, you two can't really train too hard because you use pretty much the same Pokemon in every battle. You don't want to tire them out."

As he said this, Pikachu gave a yawn, causing Ash to look up at it guiltily.

Brock frowned.

"Are you using Pikachu tomorrow, Ash?"

"Yeah," he said, slightly apprehensively. "I've got my team decided already. D'you think it's going to be too tired to battle?"

"Pika!" objected Pikachu.

Brock smiled at the yellow mouse on Ash's shoulder.

"Pikachu would battle for you no matter how tired it's feeling, Ash, but just remember that you're going to have so many big battles over the course of the Tour. You can't use Pikachu in every single one."

Ash knew Brock was right.

* * *

Rory, Kevin and Alice were sitting in the lounge, watching a preview of the next day's matches on TV. Rory was lying with his feet up, looking only mildly interested in what the presenter was saying to the two experts beside him. Alice was slouched glumly in the corner of the same sofa. She didn't seem to be very enthusiastic about hearing the experts' opinions on the upcoming matches. By contrast, Kevin was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees, appearing to hang onto every word the three men were saying.

"So, obviously the morning will open with group one, Byron against Karen_—_a crucial, winner-takes-all match. How do you see that going, Charles?"

Mr Goodshow frowned for a moment, as though pondering his answer.

"Well, obviously this match will overshadow the other group one battle as Lt Surge cannot qualify and Ruth is already through_—_"

Rory's attention was now properly fixed on the TV.

"—so you're quite right to say it's a winner-takes-all match, Jonathan. To be honest, I think it may be a bit of a slow battle, seeing as the two trainers' speciality types resist each other."

Rory relaxed his concentration again and began amusing himself by watching Kevin rock nervously back and forward on the floor.

* * *

Jessie, James and Meowth were all huddled round the receiver, trying to hear what was being said.

"_I don't care about any stupid competitions! I just want you to get me that machine!"_

"We will, sir!" said Jessie, confidently.

"The only problem is, we've never actually managed to catch_—_"

Jessie elbowed James in the ribs. The voice continued as though nothing had happened.

"_And you will get it before that competition is over otherwise the winner will be taking it away from Fuchsia City and that will just complicate things. I know where it is at the moment so it is easy for you three to get it for me. You will _not _fail this time!"_

* * *

"Well, if Ritchie is able to beat Bertha by a scoreline of six-four or better_—_"

"—assuming Lorelei beats Erika, of course."

Alice looked away from the TV as three people walked into the lounge. She recognised Ash, the boy with the Pikachu she had spoken to before her opening match.

"Hey, Ash," she said.

Kevin wrenched his gaze away from the screen for the first time to take in the newcomers. Rory glanced up, recognising Ash from various conferences. He was also pretty sure he recognised the other two from the first few days of the Tour.

"Oh, hey Alice," said Ash. "I've not spoken to you since before my match against Sabrina. How's your tournament going?"

"I'm out," she said glumly. "I lost to Lance and Koga. I mean come on, Lance and Koga..."

"Hard luck," said Brock. "That's a tough group to be in."

"Tell me about it. Oh, by the way, this is Rory," she said, gesturing at the boy lying across the sofa. "And this is Kevin."

"Nice to meet you," said Ash and Brock together. Misty stayed silent.

Rory nodded to them; Kevin gave a half-smile before turning back to the TV. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Don't mind him, he's just nervous about his match tomorrow. He's the only one of us that really has anything at stake."

"Of course," said Ash, looking at Rory. "I remember you now, you're in Gary's group. He's a sort of... well... fiend of mine. Kind of. We've known each other since we were young anyway."

"Yeah," said Rory, lazily. "He's a pretty decent trainer."

Brock suddenly spoke, frowning at Ash.

"Since Ash doesn't seem too interested in introducing us, I suppose I should do it for him. My name's Brock and this is Misty."

Alice and Rory smiled at them both. Misty didn't smile back though. She was pretty sure she recognised Alice as the girl that had knocked her over the other day while Team Rocket were stealing Sparky.

"Hey," said Kevin, turning round to speak to Ash, "isn't this your group they're talking about?"

Ash looked at the TV screen and tuned into what Mr Goodshow was saying.

"I think we're pretty much agreed that Pryce won't qualify for the next round as it would take an extraordinary combination of results, so really that leaves an intriguing three-way Kanto battle."

"And if you had to pick two to go through?"

"Well, obviously Agatha is best placed right now but we shouldn't take it as certain that she will go through. In fact, if she loses to Ash, she will have to hope Sabrina doesn't do too well against Pryce."

"So, your prediction?"

"I think Pryce will have a lot to prove against Sabrina after having lost so badly to Ash, so I believe his match against Sabrina will be a close one. I think Sabrina will just edge it. I also think Ash might just edge Agatha. But after the group comes to a conclusion tomorrow night, I expect to see Agatha and Ash just push out Sabrina."

"Well, I'd settle for that," said a voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned round to see an elderly woman standing there, hunched over a walking stick.

"Agatha!" said Ash.

Agatha smiled.

"I've just sorted out for my team tomorrow, Ash. And I should warn you that even though I'm top of the group, I'm absolutely determined to win! I can't see Pryce doing me any favours against Sabrina, so I'm going to be taking no chances!"

Ash was about to reply when Nurse Joy walked past Agatha into the lounge.

"Ash, there's a telephone call for you at reception."

"For me?"

Ash looked round at Misty and Brock, who shrugged.

"Well I'll see you later, guys," he said to Rory, Kevin and Alice. "And I'll see you tomorrow," he said to Agatha, grinning.

Ash, Misty and Brock ran out the room and towards reception. Ash picked up the phone which was lying on the desk.

"Hello?"

"Ash?"

"Hello?"

"Hello, Ash?"

"Hello. How do you know who I am?"

"Because I asked Nurse Joy to put you on the line."

"Who are you?"

"It's me, Ash."

"What are you talking about? I'm Ash."

"No, no, it's me."

"Who?"

"Professor Oak."

"Professor Oak?"

"Yes."

Ash wondered how he hadn't recognised the professor's voice immediately.

"Why are you phoning me?"

"I'm wishing you luck, Ash."

"What, for tomorrow?"

"For tomorrow."

"Well, thanks. How did you know I'm battling tomorrow?"

"Ash, every tournament on this Tour receives widespread TV coverage, you know."

"Oh, yeah..." said Ash, somewhat gloomily. "Have you seen my matches?"

"Actually, I was in my bed before they started. That's the drawback of you competing in the night battles."

"Oh, right..."

He thought Professor Oak might have made a bit more of an effort to see him in battle.

"But your mother watched them both. She asked me to ask how you're getting on."

"Fine, I guess... couldn't she have phoned me herself?"

"Well, yes, but I actually wanted to ask you something myself. As I told you before, the Pallet Classic's not far away, and the new stadium's all done! I was just making sure I could count on you to be there. It's only a Rank 1 tournament, meaning there will only be sixteen competitors in the competition. I need to get you registered as competing, if that's alright with you?"

"Of course!"

"Excellent. And do you think Brock and Misty would be interested?"

"Hang on, I'll just ask them."

Ash turned to Brock and Misty.

"Are you guys wanting to enter the Pallet Classic?"

"Sure!" they said in unison.

Ash brought the phone back to his mouth.

"Count them in, Professor."

"Excellent news! Now I have the four trainers that I really wanted to compete already registered... the rest of the places will be open to everyone."

"Who's the fourth trainer?"

"Gary, of course."

"Oh, yeah..."

"Well anyway Ash, good luck for tomorrow. I hope you and Gary both make it through. And pass on my good luck wishes to Misty. And my commiserations to Brock."

"Will do."

* * *

"Go Nidoqueen, use Mega Punch!"

Nidoqueen charged towards its opponent but Rapidash managed to leap over the top of it.

"Rapidash, Fire Blast!"

A wall of fire was sent towards Nidoqueen, burning its hard body.

"And Blaine is desperately clinging on to his slim hope of making the knockout stages!"

Gary gritted his teeth and tried to think of a way to finish the battle off.

"Nidoqueen, Strength!"

Nidoqueen once more charged towards Rapidash.

"Same again, Rapidash!"

Rapidash leaped over Nidoqueen's head before Gary's Pokemon could land a blow.

Gary reacted quickly.

"Now, while it's in the air, Hyper Beam!"

Nidoqueen let out a roar as it sent out a jet of dazzling light at the airborne Rapidash, scoring a direct hit on its side and knocking it to the ground.

The referee's flag was in the air.

"Rapidash is unable to battle. Gary from Pallet Town wins the match six-four!"

The stadium announcer informed the crowd of the implications of the result.

"And Gary has beaten Blaine to the runner-up spot in group two after Rory's six-two victory over Erin. Next up, folks, is Spenser versus Anabel to see who will take top spot in group three!"

* * *

"Okay, so you've got your team ready?"

"Of course I have!"

"And you've got a strategy?"

"Yes! Alice, I don't need you mothering me."

"I'm not mothering you, I'm just trying to make sure you have the best chance of winning tonight."

"Well, I am going to win tonight."

"Good. Have you spoken to your Pokemon yet?"

"What?"

"Like, have you given them a pep talk?"

"A _pep talk_?"

"Yeah, you should. You know, so you're all on the same wavelength during the battle."

"Do what your mother tells you, Kevin," said Rory smirking.

"Shut up."

* * *

"Marshtomp is unable to battle!"

Ash and Misty looked on nervously.

"Looks like he has to do it now then." said Gary. "It'd be a big blow to his ranking if he lost this."

They looked on as Brock chose Ludicolo as his last Pokemon.

"I reckon Sean's Ampharos has been weakened a fair bit already. Brock should be able to win this match!"

* * *

"Ampharos, Thunder Punch!"

"Ludicolo, Rain Dance!"

It started to rain in the arena as Ampharos slammed its fist into Ludicolo.

"Ludicolo, start running around!"

"Colo!"

Ludicolo did as it was told, displaying remarkable speed.

"Well, it looks like Brock's Ludicolo must have the Swift Swim ability, meaning its speed increases in the rain!"

"Ampharos, Thunder Punch again!"

This time Ampharos missed; Ludicolo was too fast.

"Razor Leaf!"

Ludicolo sent a barrage of leaves at Ampharos, causing it a fair amount of pain.

"Thunder Punch Again!"

Once more, Ampharos missed its target.

"Bullet Seed!"

Ludicolo landed another strong attack on Ampharos, causing it to sink to its knees. It got up again, shakily.

"Ampharos, you're not trying hard enough! Why won't you hit it? Do it again! Thunder Punch! Now!"

Ampharos dived towards Ludicolo, but Brock's Pokemon dodged with ease.

"Water Gun!"

Ampharos sank to its knees once more under the impact of Ludicolo's attack. This time it seemed unable to get up.

"This is useless!" yelled Sean, enraged. "Use Thunder!"

"Razor Leaf!"

Both Pokemon launched their attacks. The Thunder attack formed in the sky before enveloping Ludicolo. Trying to dodge Thunder in the rain was futile.

Ludicolo's Razor Leaf made contact with Ampharos, knocking it to the ground.

Brock waited anxiously for the flashes of thunder to stop.

"Are you okay, Ludicolo?"

"Colo!"

"Ampharos, get up! Hurry up, come on!"

"Ampharos is unable to battle! Brock from Pewter City wins the match six-five!"

Brock looked up at Ash, Misty and Gary in the crowd, grinning broadly.

* * *

It was evening.

Ash was on his own. He had decided to head down to the Trainers' Room early. The people on the TV were talking.

"We are now very close to the beginning of the night matches. Only eight battles remain and five second round places are still up for grabs! The next battle will see Pryce up against Sabrina in group thirteen. It is possible that the following encounter between Agatha and Ash will be obsolete, but only if Pryce beats Sabrina and the score is not six-nil."

The door to the Trainers' Room swung open. Sabrina walked in. She gave Ash the smallest of smiles as she made her way to the dressing room.

Pryce followed a couple of minutes later. Unlike Sabrina, he decided to speak to Ash.

"All the best, Ash. I'm still hurting from how badly you beat me and I'm determined to beat Sabrina tonight. I know that will probably be a good result for you!"

"I suppose it would, but I'm going to make sure that it wouldn't make any difference. I reckon I can take Agatha."

Pryce grinned at him as he entered his dressing room.

* * *

Brock, Misty and Gary watched on as Alakazam lifted Dewgong into the air using its Psychic attack.

"It doesn't look like this is going Ash's way," said Misty.

"Doesn't matter," Brock reassured her. "Ash just has to take care of his own job against Agatha."

"Speaking of Ash," said Gary incredulously, looking along the row at a boy coming towards them. "What on earth is he doing here just minutes before his match?"

"It's Ritchie," said Brock and Misty, without looking.

* * *

Ash watched from the Trainers' Room as Sabrina's Alakazam took out a third successive Pokemon. It was time he entered his dressing room.

But as he got up, there came a shuffling of footsteps and a _clunk_ of wood. He turned round.

Agatha approached him, coming to a halt no more than two feet away.

She looked him directly in the eyes.

Ash said nothing.

Agatha said nothing.

They shook hands.

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Agatha vs Ash to come._

_Gary's through; Brock wins but goes out; Ritchie's fate remains a mystery; Misty and Kevin have yet to battle; Rory and Ruth were already through; Alice was already out._

_Again I'm finding it difficult to describe all the significant matches. So as you can see, I just showed the endings of Blaine-Gary and Sean-Brock._

_Team Rocket return after being absent in Chapter 9. Their plot to steal (or perhaps win) the Surf HM was referenced in a couple of earlier chapters._

_Will Ash beat Agatha? Who will progress from his group? What happened in Ritchie's battle? Will Misty win? Why do Team Rocket want to Surf?_

_I want to know what you think :-)_

_Any questions? Just review or PM me.  
_


	11. The Thunderstorm

**Chapter Eleven: The Thunderstorm**

"The trainers are now up on their podiums and ready to begin this decisive battle! Both trainers are well aware that Sabrina's six-three win over Pryce has secured her place in the knockout stages regardless of the result here. This is a winner-takes-all contest!"

* * *

"I just hope Ash _is_ well aware of that," said Brock, frowning. "He can't afford anything other than a victory here."

"I don't understand how Sabrina can be definitely through," said Misty. "She's on six points and so is Agatha. If Ash wins then it comes down to victory margins, right? Surely it's possible that Sabrina could finish bottom of those three trainers?"

"It's actually not. Surprising as it may seem, Sabrina is guaranteed to finish above one or the other."

"How's that?" asked Ritchie.

"Sabrina and Agatha both currently have a tie-break score of three, but Ash already has four. If Agatha wins, Sabrina will obviously finish outright second, same if it's a draw. But if Ash wins, no matter what the score, his tie-break score will increase and Agatha's will decrease, meaning she would drop below Sabrina in the table."

Gary nodded in agreement.

"The announcer was right. This really is a winner-takes-all situation."

* * *

"Agatha from Lavender Town against Ash from Pallet Town. Select your first Pokemon!"

Ash could hear Agatha shouting to him as they released their Pokemon.

"May the best trainer win, Ash!"

"Chaaaaaaaaaaarbokk!"

"Glaaaaaaaaalie!"

Ash was quietly pleased to see the Pokemon facing his Glalie. He had had plenty experience of tackling Arbok in the past.

"Glalie, charge in with a Headbutt attack!"

"Arbok, Crunch!"

The two Pokemon headed straight towards each other and collided in the centre of the stadium.

"Quickfire Ice Beam!"

Arbok took a direct hit from Glalie's attack and recoiled in agony.

"Looks like Glalie was too close for Arbok to escape!"

"Launch a Poison Sting"

"Chaaa!"

"Repel it with an Icy Wind!"

Glalie obeyed, successfully blowing the poison barbs off course.

"Well, it looks like Ash is taking the early initiative here. Agatha and Arbok have barely landed a blow!"

"Arbok, use Acid!"

"Ice Beam again!"

Glalie released its attack as a slick of acid was on its way through the air. The ice burst through the thin acid and made contact with Arbok, just as the acid drenched Glalie.

"Glalie! Are you okay?"

Ash was too concerned with his own Pokemon to notice the damage Ice Beam had caused.

"Arbok is unable to battle!"

* * *

"Alright! Good start for Ash!"

"It was vital that he started the match well. Now he just needs to try and keep his nose in front and he should be fine."

"That's always easier said than done when it comes to Ash," said Misty, sighing.

* * *

Ash was sizing up his next opponent, wondering what to do. The truth was, he didn't have an awful lot of knowledge on ghost Pokemon, especially not Misdreavus.

"Misdreavus, Shadow Ball!"

"Uh... try and dodge Glalie!" said Ash, wildly.

Glalie almost managed to avoid the ghost's attack, but was clipped on the side as it soared away.

Ash felt annoyed with himself for being so hesitant with the command.

"Ice Beam!"

Glalie launched yet another Ice Beam, but this time it was unable to harm its opponent.

"Nicely dodged, Misdreavus! Psybeam!"

"Ice Beam again!"

The beam of ice was met by the psychic energy halfway between the two Pokemon. The attacks seemed to be fighting against each other.

"And now we will see which combination of attack and Pokemon is stronger!" declared the stadium announcer.

Suddenly, the pale blue column of ice burst through the psychic attack and battered Misdreavus against Agatha's podium.

"Yes!" yelled Ash in triumph.

"It seems Glalie's Ice Beam was stronger! Perhaps the same type attack bonus has come into play here?"

"Now, get it while it's down! Icy Wind!"

Misdreavus was clearly struggling to put up with the bitter cold. Its eyes were shut tight and it appeared to be about to give in.

"Shadow Ball!" shrieked Agatha.

"One more Ice Beam!"

Such was the physical state of the ghost Pokemon that Misdreavus had barely even conjured up a ball of dark energy when Glalie's Ice Beam hit it right between the eyes.

"Misdreavus is unable to battle!"

"Glaaaaaaaaii!"

* * *

"Wow! Ash is really taking the match to Agatha!" said Brock, excitedly.

"They're certainly both going for all-out attack," Gary pointed out. "it's not normal for Ash to be winning in situations like this. He's normally at his best in tactical battles."

After he said this, he looked to his left and saw a boy walking along the row of seats towards them.

"Alright, guys?"

It was Rory.

"Alice is up against Thorton next. Thought I'd come and catch some of Ash's match first. He's a really talented trainer, from what I've seen and heard."

"Yeah, he is," agreed Misty. "He just needs to keep his focus."

They watched Agatha reveal her third Pokemon.

"Especially against an Alakazam."

* * *

"Agatha has made her selection. Will Alakazam be able to take back the early initiative which Ash has seized?"

"Not likely," muttered Ash. "I've already faced one of these this week. Just throw an Ice Beam at it Glalie! Get in any kind of damage you can!"

Agatha took her time to issue a command of her own. The Ice Beam had almost reached her Pokemon when she yelled:

"Psybeam!"

Alakazam shot a jet of rainbow-coloured light out of the two spoons it was holding. It shattered the ice and continued at pace towards Glalie. Ash was taken by surprise and didn't issue a command in time.

"Glaaaaaaaaaii!"

Two seconds later, the referee's flag was in the air.

"Glalie is unable to battle!"

Ash recalled Glalie, thanking it as he did so. He took no time in deciding who to use next.

"Pikachu, you're up!"

"PikaPi!"

Pikachu cantered down the steps to the arena and faced up to its much larger opponent.

"Alakazam, use Psychic!"

"Try and resist, Pikachu!"

But Pikachu couldn't. Alakazam's eyes flashed an eerie shade of blue and Pikachu rose into the air.

"Pikaaaaaaaaa!"

"You have to get down Pikachu! Try shocking it from midair!"

"Chuuuuuuuu!"

Pikachu launched an electric attack at Alakazam, causing the psychic bond to break and Pikachu to fall back to the arena floor.

"It's still recovering! Quick, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu began running towards Alakazam, all the time gathering pace.

"Teleport!"

"Zaaaaaaaam!"

Pikachu pressed its electrically-charged head into Alakazam's body before the psi Pokemon was able to react to Agatha's command.

Ash saw Alakazam's groggy expression as it tried to lift itself up off the floor.

"Finish it! Quick Attack!"

* * *

"How come Alakazam didn't Teleport when Agatha asked it to?"

"I think it was still recovering from Pikachu's Thunderbolt, or whatever it used," said Rory.

"Yeah, you're probably right," agreed Brock, applauding as the referee declared Alakazam finished, "but it's probably worth noting that Agatha specialises in ghost-types, not psychic. This one probably isn't as strong as Sabrina's Alakazam."

* * *

"Go, Muk!"

The crowd groaned as a Muk materialised in front of Agatha's podium. Many pinched their noses. Ash even saw one or two get out of their seats and leave the stadium

"What's their problem?" he muttered to himself. "Muk aren't so bad."

He shook his head and turned his attention back to the task in hand.

"Right, that'll do for now. Return, Pikachu!"

Pikachu obediently scampered back up the steps towards Ash.

"You did great, Pikachu! That's two Alakazam you've taken out now."

"Pika!"

Ash reached for his belt.

"Torkoal, I choose you!"

Torkoal took to the arena looking determined.

"Muk, let's get started with a Sludge Bomb!"

Muk shot a dark purple blob of sludge towards its adversary.

"Dodge it, Torkoal!"

Torkoal tried, but it was not fast enough.

"Well, it looks like Torkoal was unable to get out of the way there and it has taken a direct hit!"

"Koooooooooaaaal!"

Ash's Pokemon suddenly began to spout large streams of tears, causing many in the crowd to laugh. Ash also heard a few mocking whistles, which he did not like. He felt annoyed with himself for letting Torkoal get hurt like that. He should've ordered an attack instead of a dodge.

"Torkoal, calm down! Use Flamethrower!"

Torkoal obeyed, but the flame was partially extinguished by the floods of tears Torkoal was shedding. By the time the attack reached Muk, its effect was little better than that of an Ember.

"Sludge Bomb again!"

Ash's mind worked furiously as he tried to think of a counter. He couldn't ask Torkoal to dodge after what had happened last time, but nor could he order an attack while it was in this state.

"Quick, Iron Defence!"

Torkoal seized up, its body glinting an iron grey colour.

The Sludge Bomb made contact and seemed to make even more of an impact than the last one. Torkoal cried more furiously still.

"Well, that wasn't a clever move on Ash's part," informed the announcer. "Does he not know that raising a Pokemon's defence has no effect on special attacks such as Sludge Bomb?"

Ash knew he was really starting to lose it now; that was three disastrous moves in a row he had commanded.

"Okay, Torkoal, you need to stop crying! There's no way we can win like this!"

"Koooooooaaal!"

Agatha, sensing an opportunity, called another attack.

"Pound!"

Muk slithered towards the sobbing Pokemon.

"Quick, Torkoal, Overheat!"

But Torkoal had already vanished under Muk's vast body of sludge. When it retreated, Ash saw that Torkoal's battle was over.

* * *

"Well, he made a bit of a mess of that," said Misty, rolling her eyes.

"What's the deal with that Torkoal, anyway?" asked Rory. "Why would it not stop crying?"

"It's always had that problem," said Brock, with his arms folded. "But it looks like he's gone for Totodile now. It's a little more upbeat than Torkoal, to say the least..."

* * *

"Okay Totodile, charge in with a Headbutt!"

"Totototodiiiiiiiiiiiiiile!"

Totodile charged furiously towards Muk and sank its head into the purple slime.

"Don't let is escape, Muk! Use Pound!"

Ash winced as he saw Totodile slowly disappear under Muk's body. It was impossible to tell if the Headbutt attack had actually done any damage.

"Try and break free! Use Headbutt again!"

The crowd watched on eagerly to see if Totodile could fight Muk off. As it transpired, all that the big jaw Pokemon succeeded in doing was to make several head-shaped, slimy lumps protrude from Muk's body as it attempted to free itself.

Ash could see that it clearly wasn't working, although he thought that the damage from all the Headbutts must be mounting up. Suddenly, a different strategy occurred to him.

"Totodile, use Water Gun!"

For a while, nothing appeared to be happening. However, eventually, a pool of water began to seep out from under Muk's body.

"Now, Headbutt again!"

There was a muffled cry of "Diiiiiiiiile!" as Totodile launched the attack. Muk slid along the wet arena floor, presumably taking Ash's Pokemon along with it.

"Now, hold your ground, Totodile!"

Muk continued its slide, but this time its extra slippery body passed right over the top of Totodile, revealing the water Pokemon to be standing tall, a steely expression on its face.

"Excellent!" yelled Ash. "Finish it! Bite!"

Totodile leaped towards Muk, who had just crashed into the stands, and sunk its teeth into its opponent's purple body.

A roar of anguish followed this attack. Totodile backflipped away from the fainted Pokemon and struck a victory pose.

"Muk is unable to battle!"

Agatha grimaced as she recalled her Pokemon. She knew she now only had two left against Ash's four.

"Well, Agatha has her back to the wall as she only has two remaining Pokemon to choose from! Which will she select?"

Agatha lobbed a Pokeball into the arena.

"Well, would you look at that! It's a Venusaur!"

* * *

"Totodile's had it!" said Ritchie disappointedly. "Or d'you think he'll switch?"

"I don't know that there's much point in switching," said Brock, frowning. "He won't want to give Venusaur a free hit."

"Good call, Brock," said Rory, "he's sticking with Totodile."

The group watched as Totodile ran up towards Venusaur.

A few seconds later, the crowd gave a collective gasp as Venusaur lashed out with an extremely powerful Vine Whip attack.

The referee's voice informed the crowd of the outcome.

"Totodile is unable to battle!"

* * *

"You did great, Totodile," said Ash, as he recalled his Pokemon.

Now he had a decision to make. He didn't want to send out Pikachu or Kingler as neither would fare particularly well against a grass-type. On the other hand, he had been hoping to save Noctowl for Agatha's Gengar. Surely that would be her sixth and final Pokemon, or had she taken a risk and left out her mascot? Would one of his other Pokemon be up to the task of defeating Gengar? Noctowl had proved itself strong against ghosts before, but he wanted it to take on Gengar at full health.

He reached for his belt and threw a Pokeball into the arena.

* * *

"What's he playing at?" shrieked Misty, getting to her feet. "How in the world is Kingler supposed to beat a Venusaur?"

"He's thinking about it too much," said Gary sounding bored. "He's probably come up with some strategy and kidded himself that the type disadvantage won't matter."

Ritchie looked anxious.

"He needs to be careful. I kept over-complicating things in my matches and that's why I lost all three of them."

* * *

Kingler had taken an early battering from Venusaur, having survived a Vine Whip and a Razor Leaf. However, it was now grabbing onto the flower on Venusaur's back using a Vice Grip attack.

"Shake it off!" encouraged Agatha.

"Saaaaaaaauur!"

Venusaur's strength proved too much and Kingler went flying into the air.

"Fall back down using Crabhammer!"

"Send up a Stun Spore!"

Kingler brought its claw thumping down on Venusaur's back, causing a groan of pain. However, when Kingler toppled back onto the ground, it seemed very rigid and was struggling to move.

"It looks like Venusaur's Stun Spore attack got Kingler just when it was landing its Crabhammer attack!"

"Venusaur, use Vine Whip!"

"Dodge, Kingler!"

But it was no good. Kingler could barely move, and Venusaur's thick vine battered the crab Pokemon right to the other side of the arena. The referee's flag was up in no time.

"Kingler is unable to battle!"

As Ash called Kingler back, he found himself wishing he had just gone with Noctowl. The whole plan had been not to have to use Noctowl before battling Gengar, but he was now left with no choice. There was no way he would send Pikachu out now.

"Noctowl, I choose you!"

Noctowl burst out of its Pokeball in a shower of stars, attracting cheers from the crowd due to its unusual colouring scheme.

"Well, Ash has selected a beautiful Noctowl as his penultimate Pokemon. However, the Pallet teenager's fans will be asking themselves why he didn't pick Noctowl over Kingler in the first place!"

"I wish I knew the answer to that," Ash muttered under his breath. "Okay, Noctowl, fly in and use Peck!"

"Keep it at bay with your vines!"

Noctowl flew towards its adversary, weaving in an out of Venusaur's vines.

"Saaaaaaaaaaauur!"

"Ouch, that's got to hurt! Noctowl got Venusaur right between the eyes!"

The damage from this attack combine with Kingler's efforts seemed to have brought Venusaur close to fainting. It was certainly wearing a very dazed expression.

"Okay, Venusaur, let's give it everything with one last attack! We can't really use Solar Beam seeing as it's night-time, so... Giga Impact!"

The noise in the stadium grew in anticipation of a powerful charge from Venusaur.

"Noctowl, fly as high as you can!"

Ash could see Agatha smiling under the floodlights.

"Bring it down with your vines!"

As Venusaur was charging forward, it shot its vines upwards and tangled them around Noctowl, dragging it down so that Venusaur trampled over the top of it and collided with Ash's podium, causing him to lose his balance.

Ash anxiously peered over the edge to see if Noctowl was okay. However, it seemed the sheer power of the attack had caused his Pokemon to faint. The good news was that the same appeared to hold true for Venusaur.

The referee was on the scene.

"Both Noctowl and Venusaur are unable to battle!" he declared.

"Well, would you believe it? After nearly half an hour of furious combat, it has come down to a one-on-one duel for a place in the next round! Ash will be at a slight disadvantage, having already used his Pikachu in the battle. But who will Agatha reveal to be her final Pokemon?"

"On you go, Pikachu," said Ash, his mouth slightly dry from nerves.

Pikachu scampered down into the arena, sparks emanating from its cheeks.

Ash's heart began to race as Agatha launched her final Pokeball from her hand. The contents of this ball could determine whether his tournament continued or ended. But he had never been in doubt of what he was about to see.

"Geeeeeeeeeeengaaaaaaaaar!"

* * *

"Pikachu's going to struggle with this one."

"Yeah, the twerp could be going out of the competition!"

Meowth sprang up from a piece of paper it had been studying and slashed its claws across Jessie and James' faces.

"Why are you two watchin' da TV when we got woik to do! D'ya think tomorrow everything's just gonna happen by itself?"

"Relax, Meowth," said Jessie, rubbing her face. "We'll show everyone who's the best at catching Pokemon."

"Yeah," piped up James, "and they don't allow trainers to take their Pokemon into the Safari Zone, so you're wasting your time with this grand scheme you're coming up with. You won't be there."

Meowth scowled and turned its attention back to the piece of paper.

* * *

"Shadow Ball!"

"Thunderbolt!"

The two attacks met in the middle of the arena, creating a kind of mini explosion.

"Shadow Ball again!"

"Dodge it this time!"

Pikachu was able to skip past the ball of energy which had been fired by Gengar.

"Keep them coming, Gengar!"

"Agility, Pikachu!"

Pikachu began to run round in circles, evading the constant stream of Shadow Balls from Gengar.

Ash noticed that Pikachu was running faster than Gengar could fire attacks. He waited until Pikachu was behind Gengar's back before taking his opportunity.

"Thunderbolt! Now!"

"Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

This attack drew raucous cheers from the crowd. It had been cleverly planned out by Ash and seemed to have done a lot of damage.

Pikachu ran back to Ash's podium to prepare for the next command.

"Gengar, try a Dark Pulse this time!"

"Dodge!"

Pikachu jumped over the approaching wave of darkness.

"Keep using Dark Pulse Gengar! Pikachu can't run away from these!"

Pikachu successfully jumped the first attack, but the second it landed it was struck by another.

"Pikaaaaaaaaa!"

"Pikachu! Are you okay?"

"Now, Shadow Ball while it's down!"

"Meet it with a Thunderbolt!"

From the ground, Pikachu fired a jolt of electricity which forced the Shadow Ball off course.

"Well, this certainly is an epic conclusion to the battle!" said the announcer, happily.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Jump it and start a Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu leaped over Gengar's attack and hit the ground running, building up an electrical charge all around its body.

"PikaPikaPikaPikaPika!"

Agatha looked panicky as Pikachu approached Gengar. The electric mouse was about to make contact when Agatha screamed a command.

"Gengar, use Lick!"

"Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

Gengar opened its mouth at the last minute causing Pikachu to collide with its tongue. Gengar had taken severe damage and staggered backwards, its electrically-charged body flashing.

"Thunderbolt, Pikachu! Finish it!"

"Chuu..." whimpered Pikachu.

"Well, it seems Pikachu is unable to carry out Ash's order. Has it run out of steam?"

* * *

"Well?" said Ritchie, gripping the edge ofhis seat tightly. "Has it?"

"I don't know," said Brock, "I suppose it's possible."

"I think the problem came from Gengar's tongue," said Rory, sounding excited. "It must've got a late Lick attack in and paralysed Pikachu!"

"Come on Ash!" shrieked Misty, her hands cupped around her mouth to amplify the sound. "Come on Pikachu!"

* * *

Due to the din coming from the crowd, Ash and Pikachu were unable to hear Misty's yells.

"Okay, Gengar, I know you're weak, but I need you to hang in there! Are you okay to keep going?"

"Gen!"

Gengar's mischievous grin had reappeared.

"Excellent! Now use Confuse Ray!"

"Pikachu, try and run away with Agility!"

But there was no hope of Pikachu pulling off Agility when it was severely paralysed. The flashing light hit Pikachu right in the eyes, which began to roll around in their sockets.

"Well, Pikachu appears to be both confused and paralysed! Gengar may be weak, but one strong attack should finish Pikachu off here!"

"Okay, this is it, Gengar! Shadow Ball!"

"Pikachu! You have to dodge it! You have to try and use Agility!"

Pikachu showed no sign of hearing Ash's command. Instead, it began to produce sparks from its cheeks.

"Well, Pikachu's confusion is evident here. It's not listening to its trainer. It seems to be readying an electric attack of its own volition!"

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Ash shielded his eyes as Pikachu launched a wild Thunder attack. The entire arena was filled with blinding, flashing lightning bolts, raining down from the black sky. The Shadow Ball attack fizzled out into nothing as everybody in the crowd covered their head with their hands in unison.

Through the gaps in his fingers, Ash saw one bolt of lightning strike the referee, causing him to sink to his knees, his shirt smoking and his flag on fire.

"Geeeeeeeeeengaaaaaaaaaar!"

Ash moved his hands away from his face to see Gengar flashing between purple and yellow as it fought against the jet of electricity that had come down from the sky.

The crowd started to focus their attention back on the match as the thunderstorm died away.

Ash's heart was thumping at three times the normal speed as his eyes skimmed the arena, taking in the situation: the astonished faces of the spectators, the panting referee, Agatha looking disbelieving, Pikachu running round in all directions, having clearly shaken off the paralysis but not the confusion, and Gengar... Gengar lying on the ground with its eyes firmly shut.

With what seemed like an enormous effort, the referee raised his sizzling flagpole and announced:

"Gengar... is unable to battle... Ash from Pallet Town... wins the match... six-five..."

Suddenly, the stadium erupted. Ash made his way down to the arena in a daze, hardly able to believe the climax to the match. Agatha was walking towards him, but somebody else had run onto the arena.

It was Nurse Joy. She crouched down and waited for Pikachu to go tearing towards her. As it approached she sprayed some medicine, which caused it to grind to an abrupt halt. She scooped Pikachu up and hurried over to Ash.

"I've healed its confusion but it's still extremely exhausted. Take it to the Pokemon Centre as soon as you're out of here."

Ash barely had time to thank her before Agatha was standing in front of him, hand outstretched.

As he shook it, Ash felt sorry that her tournament was over, but couldn't help grinning at what had just happened. He had done it.

He was through.

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Ash edges out Agatha and moves into the knockout stages, finishing top of his group. He made it harder for himself than it needed to be though._

_As I've said lots of times already, the battle scenes are so big that I can't feature every battle including a main character. However, I can tell you here that Alice, Kevin and Misty all had night matches to complete after Ash, and all three won. Kevin and Misty qualify but Alice was already out before beating Thorton._

_Not much actually happened in this chapter due to the battle taking up most of it, but we did get another brief glimpse of Team Rocket. Expect more from them in the next chapter._

_It's been another long gap without an update, so sorry to those of you who had been reading and reviewing beforehand -- I really hope you can bear with me. School's on our Easter break at the moment. I have three weeks back after the holidays and then school is over forever. Good news :D_

_Any questions/comments/suggestions/theories about the fic? A review and/or a PM would be most welcome :-)  
_


	12. On Safari

**Chapter Twelve: On Safari**

**CYNTHIA SCRAPES THROUGH TO KNOCKOUT STAGES**

_After over ninety ferocious battles, the competitors who will contest the knockout stages of the Fuchsia Classic have now been decided. Many trainers went into their final group battle knowing that their fate had already been determined, but this did not prevent an action-packed conclusion to the round. Sinnoh champion Cynthia recorded a vital 6-3 win over Greta to ensure progression to a knockout round which will contain other star names such as Steven of Hoenn and Lance, Master of Dragons. However, perhaps the most impressive first-round display came from Rory, an up-and-coming young trainer from Ecruteak City. His 6-2 victory over Erin ensured that he finished top of Group Two with maximum points and a tie-break score of ten—higher than any other trainer in the tournament. We now await the second round draw which will be conducted by the Safari Zone Warden this evening._

"What do I have to do to get a front-page mention?" grumbled Ash. "My win over Agatha was epic!"

"I wish they'd mentioned me too," added Misty. "My win over Heather didn't finish until the early hours of the morning. I didn't go through all that just to be ignored!"

"It's a shame you were battling right at the end," said Brock. "The stadium was barely a quarter full."

"Well, anyone who missed that match will be kicking themselves," said Ash, grinning. "It was pretty exciting stuff."

"Yeah, and it meant I finished top of my group! I still can't believe it!"

"I have to admit," said Brock, "you held your nerve better than I thought you would, Misty. I just wish I was one of the names in that draw tonight..."

Brock chewed moodily on his toast.

"Cheer up," said Misty. "You did great to beat Sean. And now you can relax a little. And cheer on Ash and me, of course!"

"I just hope we don't get drawn against each other, Misty," said Ash, looking concerned. "I'd feel bad about ending your tournament so soon."

Misty spluttered angrily as she took a drink of orange juice.

"As if! I hope we _do_ get drawn against each other then I'll show you whose tournament's going to end!"

"Calm down, you two," said Brock, before Ash could reply. "You should be giving each other support, not hoping to knock each other out. Besides, you can't be drawn against each other."

Ash and Misty stopped staring daggers at each other and turned to look at Brock.

"Why not?"

"Because you both finished top of your groups. If you top your group then you're guaranteed to battle somebody who came runner up. That way, you get an advantage in the next round if you actually win your group rather than just qualifying in second place."

"Alright!" said Ash. "That means I should have no trouble, no matter who my next opponent is."

Brock frowned at Ash's complacency.

"Don't get cocky, Ash. There are plenty of skilled trainers who came runner-up in their group. Just think, Sabrina came second in your group, and she beat you."

"What? So I might have to battle Sabrina again?"

"No, not in the next round. They make sure no trainers who were in the same group battle again in round two. I was just using her as an example. But there's every chance Misty could be drawn against her."

"I hope not," said Misty, looking apprehensive. "She creeps me out."

"You might well find yourself hoping you _do_ get drawn against her when you hear some of the other names you could be facing," said Brock, seriously. "It's possible that either of you could have to battle Koga, or even Cynthia."

Ash and Misty exchanged anxious looks.

"And what's more," said Brock, as he got to his feet, "I'm sure you'll both be hoping to avoid finding yourself up against Gary..."

* * *

"For the hundredth time, you can't come, Meowth!"

Meowth sat on the floor, looking sulky.

"Yer not gonna manage it without Meowth! You two's rubbish at catchin' Pokemon!"

"And you're any better?" smirked Jessie.

"I already told ya. We don't have to win da competition to get dat machine. We do what we always do: we swipe it!"

"And how are we going to do that? We don't even know where it is! Plus, people will notice if it's missing since it's supposed to be the prize. I think we're better off playing this thing by the rules, for once."

Meowth looked disgusted.

* * *

Ash, Misty and Brock had spent the morning outside, relaxing with their Pokemon. Ash was still on a high after his exhilarating defeat of Agatha the previous night. Despite the fact he had stayed up late to watch Misty's battle, he was not feeling tired in the slightest.

As three o'clock approached, the group began to make their way to the Safari Zone with the intention of entering the catching competition they had seen advertised in the _Pokemon Periodical_ two days ago. They were not far from their destination when somebody called out from behind.

It was Ritchie. He had clearly been running to catch up with them as he appeared a little out of breath. Pikachu_—_now fully recovered from its battle with Gengar_—_jumped off Ash's shoulder to see Sparky, who was cantering after its trainer.

"Hey, Ritchie."

"Hi, guys. I take it you're all entering the catching competition?"

"You bet!" said Ash and Brock together.

Ritchie turned to Misty.

"I suppose," she said doubtfully.

"But you were the one that wanted to go most!" said Ash, incredulously. "You said you liked watching all the different Pokemon."

"Yeah, well, I do, but I'm not sure I want to take any of them home with me. You get a lot of bug Pokemon in there..."

"You don't like bug-types?" enquired Ritchie.

"Well, I don't mind some of them... it's just the really... you know... _buggy_ ones I can't stand."

Ash rolled his eyes.

"But you'll be entering, right, Ritchie?" he asked.

"Yeah, it should be good fun. It'll be a good way to end my stay in Fuchsia anyway. I'm leaving for Saffron afterwards."

"What? You're not staying for the rest of the tournament?"

"Nah, I figured I'd best get away from all the distractions and start some proper training for the Saffron Classic. Plus, I'm going to have to be there before everybody else anyway since I'll probably have to go through qualifying."

"Qualifying?" said Ash, incredulously, looking at Brock for clarification.

"There's eighty competitors in this tour, but only 64 places at major tournaments," explained Brock. "This one was a little different since it's the first of the season, but in future if you're low down in the rankings you'll have to qualify."

Ritchie nodded glumly.

"Yeah, and because I lost all three of my matches, I think I'll be pretty low down when the official rankings are released after the tournament."

"Don't worry, you're bound to start getting results soon. You're too good a trainer to be having to qualify."

"Thanks, Ash. I'm just disappointed we didn't get to battle."

"Maybe you will in Saffron," said Misty.

"Yeah, I hope so!" said Ash, grinning at Ritchie.

The group stopped as they approached the Safari Zone gates. There was already a large crowd congregated there.

"Wow," said Misty, "it looks like half the city's turned out for this!"

* * *

At the other side of the crowd, an elderly-looking woman was standing next to a man with a suspiciously bushy moustache.

"There are so many people, Jessie! How are we supposed to win this?"

"Think positively, James! We're Team Rocket!"

"But... there are so many people!"

"If you would stop moaning for two seconds," snarled Jessie, "we might actually be able to hear what the old man at the front is saying!"

James fell silent and joined in listening to the Safari Zone Warden.

"Well, I'm absolutely delighted to see so many people here to participate in our Pokemon catching competition. I'll keep the introduction short so that we can get started as soon as possible."

"Good," said James.

Jessie kicked him.

"Ouch! You'll knock my disguise off!"

"It is important that you are all aware that we do not allow trainers to bring their Pokemon inside the Safari Zone. If you are to catch one of our Pokemon, it will be through your own skill. We will provide each participant with a bag of Pokemon bait, should you wish to try and lure Pokemon towards you, and also a bunch of our special Safari Zone Pokeballs. After an hour, we will all meet back here and the competitor with the most interesting Pokemon_—_to be judged by our very own Koga_—_will win our special disk to teach the versatile move Surf to Pokemon!"

"It beats my why the boss wants to go surfing anyway..."

"It doesn't matter. If the boss wants it, he has to get it. Or we're out of our jobs."

"Of course," continued the Warden, "you may keep any Pokemon you catch. So, even if you don't win, you may well find the perfect addition to your team!"

"I don't want any new Pokemon," said James stubbornly, "my Weezing is all I need."

"Well, I think my introductory speech is over. If you will please deposit all your Pokemon with Nurse Joy, she will issue you with your bait and Safari Balls. Good luck to all!"

"I wish people would deposit their Pokemon so happily with us," complained Jessie.

* * *

"I'm afraid you won't be able to take your Pikachu in with you, boys."

"But Nurse Joy, Pikachu won't go in a Pokeball!"

"Neither will Sparky! Can't we just keep them on our shoulders?"

"I'm afraid not. It's a strict policy. If they prefer not to go in a Pokeball, I'm happy to watch over them. As long as they're well-behaved, of course."

Resigned to defeat, Ash and Ritchie handed over their Pikachu to Nurse Joy.

"I won't be gone long, Pikachu," said Ash. "And who knows, maybe I'll have caught a new friend for us when I get back!"

Pikachu's ears drooped as Ash, Misty, Brock and Ritchie collected their bait and Safari Balls and entered the Safari Zone.

* * *

None of the people walking through the Safari Zone gates were aware that their every move had been closely watched.

"Aren't these Pikachu adorable?" squealed Nurse Joy, scratching Sparky's left ear.

"Fantastic specimens indeed!" agreed the Warden, doing the same to Pikachu.

In the clump of bushes nearby, a voice muttered to itself.

"Dis is poifect! For once in yer life, you's helpin' me out big time, Pikachu!"

With the Warden and Nurse Joy distracted, Meowth slipped out of his hiding place and through the open gates into the Safari Zone.

* * *

Ash, Misty, Brock and Ritchie had managed to separate from the massive crowd of competitors and now found themselves in the middle of a particularly dense clump of trees. This area of the Safari Zone was much darker than the rest, due to the way the trees seemed to stretch over their heads, forming a kind of canopy.

"I haven't seen a single Pokemon yet," grumbled Ash.

"That's probably because you've been scaring them away by moaning at the top of your voice," retorted Misty.

Ritchie laughed involuntarily, causing Ash to get slightly irritated.

"Well, we're never going to find anything going round in a group of four, are we?" he said, moodily.

"Alright, alright," said Brock, trying to settle the situation before a full-scale argument could develop, "how about we split up? You guys can go with each other and I'll go with Misty."

"Sounds good to me," said Ash and Misty in unison.

Brock shook his head apologetically at Ritchie as the two pairs headed off in opposite directions.

* * *

"Just leave it, James! We're not going to win the competition with a measly Nidoran!"

James, still in his disguise, was down on all fours attempting to prod pieces of Pokemon bait under a spiky-looking bush.

"But I wanna catch something!" he protested, now shoving his arm underneath the bush and groping around.

"Well, you're not going to manage it like that!" snarled Jessie, watching James' embarrassing attempts to get hold of the Nidoran they had seen run off. "We're going to need to use our initiative."

James looked up at Jessie from the ground and blinked.

"As in think of a clever way to lure the Pokemon into a trap," she explained.

At her last word, James' face lit up.

"Ooooh, you mean like digging a hole for the Pokemon to fall into? That's our speciality!"

Suddenly James let out a yelp and withdrew his hand from the bush. Attached to his middle finger was a pair of sharp teeth, belong to a small purple rodent.

Jessie sighed as she watched her friend run round in circles, trying to throw the poison Pokemon off.

"That wasn't exactly how I was planning to lure in Pokemon," she muttered.

* * *

"Venonat, you're mine!"

Ash lobbed the dark-green Safari Ball at his adversary and watched as it was sucked inside amidst a glow of red light.

The ball shook.

"Alright!" said Ritchie, as the ball shook a second time, "I think you got it!"

But just as Ash was about to agree with him, the Safari Ball burst open and Venonat reappeared.

"Venonaaaaaaaat!"

Venonat shot a Psybeam attack at Ash, causing his vision to be temporarily blinded. When the bright colours imprinted in Ash's brain faded, Venonat was no longer there.

"It got away!" he said in dismay.

"Hard luck," said Ritchie, looking equally disappointed. "We've still got plenty of time left though."

Ash knew he was right. He couldn't get too down on himself for failing to capture that Venonat. After all, the next Pokemon he met might be twice as rewarding to capture!

"What was that?"

"What?" said Ash, looking puzzled.

Ritchie was turning around, looking in every direction.

"I just heard something..."

He began following a line of particularly large, unkempt bushes, seemingly trying to find the end of the row. Ash followed, wondering whether Ritchie had maybe been imagining things. He certainly hadn't heard anything.

"Slow down, Ritchie!" He yelled.

"Quiet, Ash!" Ritchie whispered over his shoulder. "You'll scare it away!"

Ritchie eventually found the end of the row of tall bushes and hurtled round to the other side. Ash did the same, but collided into the back of his friend the second he had turned the corner.

Ritchie had stopped dead, staring at the Pokemon in front of him.

* * *

"Argh! What was that?"

Misty jumped and clutched hold of Brock's left arm.

"D'you think it was some kind of bug Pokemon?"

"Probably," said Brock, unconcerned.

Misty clutched his arm even tighter. She looked as though she was trying to force herself to remain calm as she began speaking.

"Maybe it would be better if we just went back, Brock... I mean, it's not like any of the little bug Pokemon you find in here will be any help to us in the Tour, is it?"

"We're staying until the time's up, Misty," he said, sounding bored. This was not the first time Misty had began panicking in the last half hour or so.

"Well then, can we at least go over there?"

She was pointing at a small pool of water not too far from where they were.

"I'm sure the Pokemon by that pond will be a lot less buggy."

Brock agreed—more to shut Misty up than anything—and they began walking towards the water, where there did not seem to be so much undergrowth.

As they approached, Misty gave another squeal, but this time of delight. She was running over to a Pokemon standing by the side of the pond. It was standing, dipping each of its two heads in turn into the water for a drink.

"Wow," said Brock, catching up with her. "It's a Doduo!"

The Doduo's head that was not in the water turned round to look at the two newcomers. However, it appeared untroubled and continued drinking.

Misty sat down by the water's edge, marvelling at the fact that Doduo did not mind her being so close to it. She fumbled in her bag for the bag of Pokemon bait Nurse Joy had given her and opened it with her teeth. She took a few grains of the food inside and tossed them into the water.

The Doduo's right head made a beeline straight for the food.

"It's so sweet!" she said, happily.

"Raa!" screeched the Doduo's heads, apparently pleased.

The odd bird waddled towards Misty and began rubbing one of its heads against her legs.

"Aww, look, Brock!" she said in delight.

Brock was smirking.

"You might want to watch its other head though, Misty."

Misty looked down to see the second head rummaging through her bag, looking for the rest of the Pokemon bait.

"Doduo!" said Misty, suddenly stern, "get out of my bag!"

But before she could do anything, the Doduo disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Huh?"

There was a soft click, prompting Misty to rummage in her bag herself. Her hand closed around a spherical object, which she drew out of the bag.

Both Misty and Brock stared at the Safari Ball, dumbfounded.

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Misty appears to have "caught" a Doduo. There are many unfinished sub-plots here as this was originally just the first half of a much longer chapter, but I decided to split it into two. What was the Pokemon Ritchie found? Can Team Rocket really win the competition? What exactly is Meowth up to? Answers will all be revealed in the next chapter, although I'd like to know what you think :-)_

_Also, for the first time in months, I can guarantee you that the next chapter will be out very soon. I can say this because I have already written it :D_

_As usual all reviews/questions/comments are more than welcome._


	13. The Cat Burglar

**Chapter Thirteen: The Cat Burglar**

Meowth was out of breath. He had just escaped an intimidating looking Pokemon trainer who tried to capture him. Meowth certainly didn't mind seeing Pokemon food being thrown at him, but he thought lobbing tree branches was just cruel.

He had not been paying attention to where he was going when fleeing his hunter, and was surprised to find himself only a few feet away from a small brown cabin. It seemed very out-of-place in amongst all the unusual trees and plants, and Meowth knew it must have been there for a reason.

Eager to investigate, he climbed part of the way up a nearby tree so that he was at the perfect height to peer through the window. It was hard to see exactly what was inside as there was no light, so Meowth reasoned he may as well leave the place alone. But just as he took one paw off the branch he was sitting on, the sun shone through the cabin window and caught a small object inside, which glinted. Although it was hard to tell, Meowth thought it looked like a CD.

"Hmm... maybe..."

* * *

"There, that should do it!"

Jessie and James stood back to admire their handiwork.

"You know, we've hidden it so well, I think I might accidentally fall in if I'm not careful!"

"We have fallen into our own traps before, right enough," observed Jessie. "We'd better climb up this tree and wait for a Pokemon to fall in. I'll leave some bait out."

"Why have we started this new trend of hiding in trees?" complained James. "I told you, I don't like it. What's wrong with good, old-fashioned bushes?"

* * *

The Safari Ball clicked and stopped moving.

"Alright!" said Ritchie, gleefully. "I can't believe I managed to catch it!"

"Nice one," grinned Ash. "You'll have a good shot at winning the competition with that. I just wish I'd been able to catch something. It's so hard without Pikachu and the others to help."

"Tell me about it," agreed Ritchie. "I could've caught it so much quicker if only Sparky had been here to Thunderbolt it."

"Maybe we'd best start heading back," said Ash, resigned to the fact he was not going to catch anything. "There's not long left."

"Yeah, alright. I wonder if the others managed to catch anything."

"Brock maybe, but no way will Misty have caught anything," said Ash, confidently. "She can barely look at bug Pokemon, never mind catch them."

* * *

"Come on... nearly there..."

Meowth continued to pick at the padlock with his sharp claws. Finally, it clicked open, allowing him to nudge the door open and step inside. He saw that the object he had seen through the window was indeed a CD. It had four letters printed across its shiny surface:

'SURF'

"Bingo!"

Meowth grabbed the CD and swiftly exited the cabin. However, as soon as he did so, he heard footsteps and flung himself behind a thick tree.

An old man Meowth recognised as the Safari Zone Warden had walked up to the cabin and stopped to stare at the half-open door with its broken padlock. After he stepped inside, Meowth seized his opportunity and bolted away from the cabin as fast as he could.

* * *

Brock and Misty were now outside the Safari Zone, having decided to call it a day after Misty caught the Doduo. Brock was feeding Pikachu his unused Pokemon bait while Sparky had jumped onto Misty's shoulder.

"Did you miss us?" she said, laughing.

"Pika!"

"Here are your Pokemon back," said Nurse Joy, handing over the Pokeballs Brock and Misty had deposited. "Did you catch anything new?"

"Yeah, I caught a Doduo!" said Misty, deciding not to reveal the manner in which she had "caught" it.

"I didn't catch anything," said Brock, quickly stepping in front of Misty, "but if you were to agree to meet me for dinner tonight, Nurse Joy, I would consider you my catch of the day."

It was lucky that the awkward silence which followed Brock's declaration was quickly broken by the two Pikachu crying out and scampering towards the Safari Zone gates, through which Ash and Ritchie had just walked.

"Hey!" said Misty, happy to turn her attention away from Brock and Nurse Joy. "Did you catch anything?"

"I didn't," said Ash glumly. "Ritchie did though. Just wait till you see it!"

"What did you catch?" asked Brock, apparently having tuned into the conversation.

In response, Ritchie threw a Safari Ball into the air and allowed his new Pokemon to materialise in front of his friends.

"Scyyyyyther!"

"Wow!" exclaimed Brock and Misty.

Scyther swung its blade-like arms through the air, creating a soft whistling sound. It clearly enjoyed the admiration it was receiving.

"I thought you didn't like bugs, Misty," said Ash teasingly.

"But this doesn't really look like a bug. Plus, I got used to Scyther when we used to hang around with Tracey."

"How on earth did you catch it?" asked Brock, amazed. "They're so fast! And with no Pokemon to weaken it with as well!"

"I used its own speed against it," said Ritchie proudly. "It kept chasing after me, so I stood in front of a tree... then moved out the way at the last minute. I could feel its pain."

"It was pretty clever stuff," said Ash. "And what about you guys? Did you catch anything Brock?"

"Nope. You're asking the wrong person."

"What d'you mean I'm... wait... does that mean..."

He turned to look at Misty who was standing, hands-on-hips, looking annoyed.

"_Misty_ caught something?"

* * *

Meowth was still running.

He tore in between all the straggly plants protruding from the ground, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to make sure the Warden had not seen him and followed.

Meowth's feet were beginning to tire from contact with the uneven terrain. However, just as was considering stopping to rest, he felt the normally solid ground crumble beneath his feet. Next thing he knew, he had plummeted into a six-foot deep hole and could see nothing but earth and a small circle of blue sky above.

"Meeeeeeeowth!" he moaned. "What kinda numbskull goes diggin' holes in da middle of nowhere?"

As he said this, two faces protruded over the edge of the whole.

"Numbskulls?"

"Us?"

Meowth gaped.

"You two! What's da big idea?"

"Wow," said James, sounding impressed. "He saw through our disguises!"

"I worked for ages on this!" said Jessie, outraged.

"Quit yappin' and get me outta here!"

James reached for a severed vine lying not too far from him and lowered it into the whole. As Meowth climbed out, Jessie was eyeing him suspiciously.

"What's that under your arm, Meowth?"

"Funny you should ask," said Meowth. "I sneaked into da Safari Zone, knowing you two was never gonna win da competition, and I swiped dis."

He held out the CD for Jessie and James to see.

"Is that..."

"What I think it is?"

"You betcha!" he said, looking very pleased with himself. "And now all you two need to do is smuggle me outta here!"

* * *

All the trainers had now congregated outside the Safari Zone and were huddled round the Safari Zone Warden, who was addressing the group.

"Stolen?" cried out one of the trainers. "How do you know?"

"The door to my cabin was open, although I had padlocked it shut earlier. The only thing missing was the prize."

Ash, Misty, Brock ad Ritchie all looked at each other.

"That's terrible," Misty whispered. "Who'd want it _that_ badly?"

As she said this, the gates to the Safari Zone swung open and an elderly couple walked out.

"Ah," said Nurse Joy, "I've been waiting for you. Here are your Pokemon back."

"Uh, thank you," said the woman, looking slightly flustered as she took the Pokeballs. "I'm sorry we took longer than we were supposed to, but we didn't manage to catch anything anyway, so, I think we'll be off now! Bye!"

The two newcomers turned round and began to walk very quickly away from the Safari Zone, until a Pokemon jumped out in front of them.

"Pii!"

Pikachu was on all fours, glaring up at the man.

"Shoo!" he said, making flapping gestures with his hands.

But Pikachu did not move. It continued to stare intently at a slight bulge in the man's stomach. Pikachu seemed to be sniffing the air.

There was a moment's silence.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu's electrical attack took the couple—and the rest of the crowd—by complete surprise. Once the electricity had subsided, the grey hair fell off each of them, revealing the woman to have long red hair, and the man to have medium-length blue. A cat Pokemon also fell to the ground from under the man's overcoat, clutching a blue CD in one of its paws.

"It's Team Rocket!" yelled Ash.

"They've got the Surf disk!" exclaimed the Warden.

Jessie looked around angrily.

"Well, it looks like you've caught us. But we're not going down without a battle! Arbok go!"

She threw a Pokeball in between her and the crowd of angry trainers.

"Chaaaaaaaaarbokka!"

"Go Pikachu! Use—"

"Wait, Ash, can you let me handle this one?"

Ash stopped himself from issuing an order to Pikachu when he heard Ritchie speak.

"I wanna test out Scyther and see what he's capable of."

Ash saw the determined look on Ritchie's face. He suspected he was still hurting from losing all of his tournament matches and wanted to show what he was really capable of.

"Take it away, Ritchie," he said, grinning.

"Alright!" he said, turning to his newest Pokemon, still out of its Pokeball. "Scyther, let's go! Use Wing Attack!"

"Arbok, Acid!"

Arbok spat a ball of black acid towards its adversary, but Scyther merely slashed its arm through it.

"Let's see it cut through this!" shrieked Jessie. "Use Bite!"

Arbok leaped forward, bearing its sharp teeth.

"Get out of there, Scyther! Agility!"

Scyther was gone in a flash, leaving Arbok to lunge right into the ground. Scyther, who had sped round to the other side of Arbok, looked at its new trainer for a command.

"Finish it! Slash!"

"Scyyyyyyyther!"

The assembled trainers cheered as Scyther brought its arm down on Arbok's back. Jessie had a sour look on her face as she called her Pokemon back.

"Do something, James!"

James gulped before looking at Meowth.

"Maybe we should revert to the good old escape plan?"

Meowth nodded vigorously as Scyther advanced.

"Weezing, use Smokescreen!"

James released his Weezing, which promptly issued a cloud of dense, black smoke.

"I can't see a thing," spluttered Ritchie.

A few seconds of general confusion ensued before a female voice shouted out over the crowd.

"This is no use! Tropius, use Whirlwind!"

Moments later there was a ferocious blast of air, causing Ash to nearly lose his balance and fall. The smoke cleared and he could see the unusual fruit Pokemon standing by a woman with shortish purple hair and sunglasses. But there was no sign of Team Rocket.

"I can't believe they got away!" said Ritchie, enraged.

"I'm sure we could still find them if we just split up and searched," suggested the woman with the Tropius. "I mean, they can't have gone that far."

However, the Safari Zone Warden appeared to have accepted defeat.

"I really admire your eagerness to help," he said, "but this is a serious case of theft and has become a matter for the Fuchsia City Police Force to handle. I shall inform them of today's events immediately, but I am afraid there is little we can do just now. I can only apologise for the disappointment of those of you who felt you had a chance of winning the catching competition and hope that you can at least take comfort from the fact you have caught a brand new Pokemon. And of course, for some of you, that new Pokemon could help propel you towards the title of Fuchsia Classic Champion! But now, I must head to the police station. And then begin preparing for tonight! I know I'll see many of you there!"

And with that, the Warden headed back towards the city centre, leaving the trainers to discuss the day's developments excitedly.

"I wonder why Team Rocket wanted that prize so badly?" mused Brock.

"I don't think they wanted it at all," said Ash. "They just wanted to spoil the party."

"Hmm..." Brock sounded unconvinced. "Maybe..."

"I'm starting to get nervous about tonight," said Misty, anxiously. "I'd completely forgotten about the draw until the Warden mentioned it just then."

"Don't be nervous about tonight," advised Ritchie, "be nervous about your battle when it comes around. Tonight's a night for celebrating the fact you made it through. You should be looking forward to it."

Misty felt a little guilty that she had been complaining about the draw, having forgotten that Ritchie wasn't even going to be there.

"Anyway," he continued, breaking the silence. "I'd best be off now. It's been great to see you guys again after so long."

"And you!" the others replied fervently.

"I'm already looking forward to seeing you all again in Saffron. But I'm warning you, with Scyther on my team, you won't be wanting to have to battle me!"

Ash grinned and shouted after Ritchie as he turned and began to walk away.

"It's gonna take more than just Scyther to beat me, Ritchie. I'll get my revenge for our last battle sometime!"

"PiPikachu!"

* * *

When Ash, Misty and Brock entered the hotel lounge that evening, the room looked very different from what they were used to. For one thing, there was an enormous electronic display board mounted on one of the walls, currently displaying the words "Fuchsia Classic Round of 32". What was more, there were several wooden chairs lined up along the back wall. The people sitting there were all holding notebooks and pens, some even had cameras.

"Wow," said Brock as he sat down on the floor, "it's packed!"

Brock was quite right; there was not a seat to be had anywhere. As Ash glanced around the room, he saw many people he recognised, including Rory and his friends, Sabrina, Anabel and several others. He felt displeased that he could also see Paul amongst the crowd, meaning he must have qualified for the second round, too.

"Hey, guys."

Gary had sat down next to Brock, who barely had time to reply before the Safari Zone Warden was standing at the front of the room, ready to address the crowd.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the second round draw for the Fuchsia classic. I must say, I am pleased to see so many of you hear to witness the excitement, particularly to those of you who did not qualify but have stayed around to cheer on your friends. However, I must also extend my congratulations to all thirty-two of you who did manage to make it through the group stages: in a field as tough as this, making it to the knockout stages is a very commendable achievement indeed."

Ash wished he would just get on with it. He was more eager than ever to know who he was going to battle.

"Now, before we begin the draw, I must explain the way it will be done. There are two glass bowls in front of me, as you can see. This bowl on the left contains sixteen Safari Balls, each of which holds the name of a competitor who finished top of his or her group. In the other bowl, there are sixteen regular Pokeballs, containing the names of all the runner-up finishers. Naturally, each trainer will face an opponent whose name is not in the same bowl as their own. If, at any point, two trainers are drawn together who competed in the same group, the second name will be placed back into the bowl and a different opponent will be selected."

Ash was glad Brock had explained all this earlier, otherwise he would have been completely lost.

"As you can see, the names of the thirty-two remaining competitors are displayed on the board behind me, split into the two separate groups. This should help you determine all your potential opponents at a glance."

Ash glanced up at the electronic display and saw that his name was under the heading "Group Winners", alongside Misty's and several others.

"Without further ado, let's get the draw under way!"

There was a round of applause as the Warden dipped his hand into the bowl of Safari Balls and selected one. He opened it.

"And the first trainer to be drawn is Lorelei of Kanto!"

"She came through Ritchie's group," whispered Brock.

"And she will battle Spenser, one of Kanto's Frontier Brains!"

"Good luck to her," said Brock, bitterly. "Spenser absolutely demolished me."

Ash watched as the display board changed. It now read "Lorelei vs Spenser" right at the top.

"Didn't Spenser finish top of your group, though?" asked Misty.

"Nah, Anabel beat him."

Ash, who had been listening to Brock and Misty's conversation instead of concentrating on the draw, refocused as there was a cheer from a corner of the lounge. Instinctively, Ash looked up at the display and saw the third match had just been announced: "Barry vs Koga".

"I wonder how far Koga can get," said Brock. "He's a good battler at the best of times and he must be a big favourite in that match considering he has the whole city behind him."

Ash did not reply. He said nothing during the next few pairings, until Paul's name was announced.

"I'm glad he got drawn against Palmer," said Ash, relieved. "He's one guy I did not want to battle."

The Warden moved back to the Safari Balls to pick out the first trainer of the seventh match.

"Ash from Kanto."

Ash sat up straight, his heart beating fast. He could sense Brock and Misty looking round at him. Gary however, was looking at his knees.

"_Not Gary..."_ he thought, desperately. _"Even Cynthia, or someone like that, I don't mind, just not Gary..."_

"And he will face off against Sinnoh's Argenta."

"Who?" said Ash, slightly louder than he meant to.

"She's a Sinnoh Frontier Brain," whispered Gary unexpectedly. He appeared much more animated now he knew he wasn't going to be battling Ash.

"Huh, I've never met any of the Sinnoh Brains before," said Ash. "To be honest, that was a bit of an anticlimax. I've never even heard of her."

"But you can't underestimate her," said Brock, seriously, as Anabel was drawn against Tucker. "She's a Frontier Brain, and I've had first-hand experience of how strong they are."

"Yeah, yeah, so have I."

"And Rory's opponent will be Sabrina of Kanto!"

"Should be a good match that," said Ash, now more interested in the rest of the draw.

"Misty of Kanto," said the Warden as he moved towards the second bowl.

Misty was hugging her knees nervously.

"Will battle Bertha from Sinnoh."

"Tough match," said Gary. "She's from the Elite Four."

"But Misty's already beaten Flint from the Elite Four," said Brock, sounding upbeat. "Plus, she'll have a type advantage again. Bertha specialises in Ground-types."

"Wake from Sinnoh is next out of the draw. And he will do battle with Gary from Kanto."

"Wow," said Misty, "look how close we were to being drawn against each other!"

"I suppose that's not a bad draw," said Gary, reasonably. "There were much tougher opponents I could've had."

Suddenly, the lounge erupted in a blast of cheering and whistling. Ash noticed all the journalists at the back of the room were scribbling furiously on their notepads.

"What happened?" said Ash wildly. "I wasn't paying attention."

"Well, well," said the Warden. "It looks like two of the pre-tournament favourites will be doing battle as early as the second round!"

Ash looked up at the screen frantically to see the latest fixture: "Steven vs Cynthia".

"Wow," said Ash. "That's one heavyweight battle alright."

"Cynthia's paying the price for not winning her group," said Brock, gravely. "She's got the hardest draw she possibly could have."

"But so has Steven," said Gary. "Of all the sixteen runners-up, Cynthia's the one he really didn't want to battle."

The Warden had stepped back up onto his table to make the concluding speech.

"Well, thank you once again to everybody for coming tonight. The sixteen matches will take place over two days, starting the day after tomorrow. All remaining competitors will receive information as to the time of their battles tomorrow. I would like to wish each and every one of you the best of luck for the rest of the tournament, and I hope to see you back here for the last sixteen draw in a few days' time!"

Noisy chat broke out as the crowd began to make its way slowly out of the lounge.

"All in all, the draw hasn't been too unkind to you guys," said Brock. "Ash, you've probably got the toughest battle, but I reckon you should be able to take any Frontier Brain, if you prepare well enough."

"Hey, Ash!"

Ash turned round to see the woman with the Tropius from earlier standing behind him.

"Oh, hey!" said Ash. "it was a real shame about the competition this afternoon, wasn't it?"

"Tell me about it," said the woman. "I just wish I'd sent my Tropius out earlier. Maybe that way Team Rocket wouldn't have got away..."

"Tropius is such a cool Pokemon," said Ash. "I hardly ever see trainers with them."

The Tropius trainer laughed.

"Thanks, Ash. You'll certainly learn a few more things about Tropius when we have our battle!"

Ash stared blankly at her, then gaped as realisation dawned upon him: he wasn't just staring at any old woman with a Tropius; he was staring at Argenta.

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Ash now knows his second-round opponent. Perhaps not the most exciting draw for him, but it's certainly an opponent that could prove very difficult to beat. Will he underestimate the Frontier Brain?_

_Team Rocket have managed to escape with the Surf HM, bringing to an end a sub-plot first referenced back in Chapter 5. Well, I say bringing to an end... there will be more on Team Rocket's plans later in the fic._

_We also say goodbye to Ritchie for now. He has gone to Saffron to train for the upcoming tournament there, but we'll see more of him when the Fuchsia Classic's over._

_I wasn't entirely happy about the way I wrote the draw... it was kind of hard to do without pretty much just listing all the matches. I think in future, I might not have draws as live events as it's quite hard to make them exciting. If anyone wants a full list of the round two battles, let me know and I'll post them on my profile._

_So if you've read this far in the story, please let me know what you think: will Ash beat Argenta? Will Misty beat Bertha? I like to know what everyone's thinking :-)_


	14. Forest Fire

**Chapter Fourteen: Forest Fire**

**CHAMPIONS TO DO BATTLE**

_The draw for the second round of the Fuchsia Classic was always going to create many interesting match-ups, but none will be more eagerly anticipated than the clash between Steven and Cynthia. It is unusual for two of the strongest trainers to be drawn together this early in a tournament, but Cynthia's failure to finish top of her group meant she was guaranteed to be drawn against a high-quality opponent. This match will take place in two days' time, along with Lance's clash with Byron and Rory versus Sabrina. For a detailed analysis of tomorrow's matches, read pages two through five._

The _Pokemon League Periodical_ was lying on the breakfast table, which Ash, Brock and Misty had just vacated. The group were making their way out of the hotel, intent on taking advantage of the continuing good weather. For Ash and Misty, this meant an opportunity to train for their upcoming matches; for Brock, it meant an opportunity to watch girls sunbathing.

As they were walking past the reception desk, towards the doors, Nurse Joy called out to them.

"Are you three going outside? Make sure that if you leave the city, you don't go through the forest to the east. There have been some terrible forest fires there over the last couple of days. It's not safe for young trainers like yourselves to cross through."

"Forest fires?" Ash repeated, stunned. "The weather's been good, but it's not that hot."

"I don't think it's anything to do with the weather," said Nurse Joy, looking sad, "although I wish it was. The Fuchsia City Police Force believe these fires have been started on purpose."

"But who would want to start a fire?" asked Ash, nonplussed.

"That's what the police are trying to find out."

"What a few days it's been for the police," said Misty, wide-eyed. "First the Safari Zone thieves and now this."

"Well, thanks for the warning, Nurse Joy," said Ash. "We'll make sure not to go anywhere near that forest."

He and Misty walked away from the desk, but Brock did not follow.

"Nurse Joy..."

She looked at him.

"No matter how long that forest was alight, it cannot match my burning desire for you."

There was a very long silence.

* * *

"Stop being so worried."

Rory was losing patience with his friend. He had not stopped going on about his battle all morning.

"I'm not worried," retorted Kevin. "I'm just trying to think up a strategy. I'm actually preparing for my match, you see, unlike some people."

"Yeah, but mine's not for two days yet," said Rory, relaxed.

"I think you're being a little too laid-back."

The two boys turned to look at Alice as she said this.

"You're up against Sabrina, that psychic trainer. She beat Ash in her first battle. I don't think you're going to cruise through that like you seem to expect to."

"Oh stop being so negative. We'd be encouraging you if you had a match coming up."

"I'm not being negative, I just think Kevin's got the right idea. You should be overestimating your opponent, if anything."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..."

* * *

Ash, Misty and Brock had released their Pokemon, and stood watching them play together. Buizel and Politoed were chasing each other round Steelix, who was curled up on the ground, trying to sleep. Staraptor, Swellow and Crobat were flying round in circles, while Doduo was interestedly examining Psyduck by pecking it every so often.

However, Misty had noticed that one Pokemon did not seem to be enjoying itself.

"What's up with Pikachu?" she asked. "It's not joining in with the others."

Ash looked over and saw Pikachu lying down slightly apart from the others, looking on with an air of depression. Ash felt slightly guilty.

"I told it last night, I'm not going to use it in my battle against Argenta."

Misty looked surprised upon hearing this, but Brock nodded in approval.

"I think you made the right decision, Ash. You've used Pikachu in all three of your battles so far, there's no way it would be able to perform to its highest level against Argenta. What's more, if you manage to win, Pikachu will be fresh for your next battle."

"That's what I was thinking," said Ash. "I've decided to bring Buizel in so that I've still got good agility in my team if I need it. I thought Swellow and Staraptor might be useful too in taking out that Tropius, just in case she decides to attack from the sky."

"I notice you brought Glalie, too," observed Brock. "It has a huge type advantage against Tropius. You've certainly been using your head with this selection, Ash."

Ash felt proud of himself; praise from Brock was always very welcome.

"I just wish I knew more of the Pokemon she uses..."

"No matter who she uses, you're capable of winning if you prepare well enough," said Misty, in an encouraging tone.

"I suppose you're right," said Ash, slightly surprised. "I'd better get down to some training then."

Suddenly, he was struck by an idea.

"D'you want to train with me? We could have our Pokemon help each other out so that while I'm training for battling Argenta, you're getting ready for your battle with Bertha at the same time!"

"Alright, sounds good!"

"I'll just lie here and take in some sun, guys," said Brock happily. "If you need any help, just shout!"

* * *

Despite the sunshine, the room was dark. The blinds were pulled across every window. Even if a passer-by were to stumble across the well-hidden hut, they would unlikely suspect anyone to be inside. The interior of the building was very simple: there was only one room. A dirty rug lay across the wooden floor and there was a single moth-eaten sofa. Several empty food tins were littered around the room. Due to the run-down state of the hut, it was perhaps surprising that it contained a telephone.

"_Well, well, well... I must say I am very pleased. I have to admit, I had my doubts about your ability to complete this task, but somehow it appears that you have succeeded."_

Jessie, James and Meowth exchanged gleeful looks.

"_Excellent. Very good indeed. Now, listen to me. We are not yet ready to proceed with the operation as we don't have enough of the required Pokemon in our army, so I do not want you to give me the disk yet. Plus, from what you have told me, you managed to get the entire Fuchsia Police Squad on the lookout for you, so it is best that you lie low for some time."_

"Don't worry, Boss, lying low is one of our strengths!"

Jessie glared at James.

"_I will contact you when I am ready to receive the disk. Until then, just don't do anything stupid!"_

"You got it, Boss!"

* * *

"Doduo, show me what you can do! Use Peck!"

Doduo turned both its heads round to look quizzically at Misty.

"Well, go on then!" she urged.

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

"Chaaaaaaaaa!"

Chimchar shot a barrage of fire towards Doduo.

"Fly out of the way!"

"Raaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The twin bird Pokemon screeched as the attack hit it.

"Doduo can't fly, Misty!" said Ash, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well I didn't know that!" yelled Misty, defensively. "I mean it's a bird, isn't it? It should be able to fly."

"Well, I think it needs some training. It doesn't even listen to you!"

Misty looked outraged, but before she could utter a retort, she noticed Doduo had began a rampage in the direction of Chimchar, apparently incensed by the Flame Wheel attack.

"Chaaaaaaaa!"

Clearly panicking, Chimchar tore off in the opposite direction.

"Aren't you going to call Doduo back, Misty? Look what it's doing to Chimchar!"

Misty scoffed.

"Come on, Ash, if Chimchar's scared of a Doduo then how do you expect it to be any use against Argenta?"

"But I'm sure none of her Pokemon behave like absolute psychos!" said Ash hotly.

He tore after Doduo and Chimchar before they could disappear completely from view. Misty reluctantly followed; Brock remained lying on the grass, half-asleep.

* * *

"Where did they go?"

Ash was panting, having run for several minutes in pursuit of Chimchar. In response, Misty gestured up ahead towards a clump of trees, seemingly unable to speak due to exhaustion.

Ash continued on, and thought he could hear the distant sound of Chimchar's yells. He stopped soon after entering the forest and rounded on Misty, who was trailing some way behind.

"See what your maniac Pokemon has done? We've lost them! And I need to get Chimchar ready for our battle tomorrow!"

"You're not seriously going to use Chimchar, are you?" asked Misty incredulously. "I mean, it was fair enough against Pryce, but you're into the knockout stages of the tournament now. You're going to need Pokemon that are physically much stronger! You can't keep relying on small, agile Pokemon to get you through!"

"You're not seriously sticking up for Doduo, are you?"

"No, I'm just saying that you're making too big a deal out of it. Doduo just got angry. It's not going to chase Chimchar forever."

Ash had to bite his lip in order to prevent himself arguing back.

"Well, let's just hurry up and find them quickly."

He started to walk forward, but Misty put her hand on his shoulder, preventing him from moving.

"Ash, we can't go any further! This is the forest Nurse Joy told us to stay clear of, remember? She said it's not safe!"

"I'm not leaving without Chimchar!"

And with this stubborn remark, he shook Misty's hand off and proceeded deeper into the forest.

* * *

Rory was walking round the perimeter of the Safari Zone, observing all the trainers who were preparing for their upcoming battles. This area had been very busy over the last week or so, as it was the area where all the trainers tended to gather, training or not. However, now that half of the trainers had been eliminated from the tournament, it was less crowded and therefore easier to find the person you were looking for. Rory succeeded in doing this very quickly; Ruth was only a few yards away from him, talking to her Vileplume. She saw Rory approaching, with a grin on his face.

"Where are Kevin and Alice?" she inquired.

"Back in the hotel talking strategy." He rolled his eyes as he said this. "And Alice has been lecturing me about how I'm under-preparing for my battle with Sabrina, so I thought I'd escape for a bit."

"Well, knowing you, you probably have been under-preparing."

Rory looked offended.

"Oh, come on, I don't need to start preparing until tomorrow. My match isn't for two days yet!"

"You won't have time tomorrow."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll be watching my battle," she said, simply. "And Kevin's, no doubt."

"Oh yeah. I'm looking forward to yours more, to be honest. You and Ryan. That's a bit of a grudge match," he said grinning.

"Ugh, yeah. I can't stand battling him. He takes it too seriously with all his calculations and stuff."

"It works though," observed Rory.

"Not against me. I've got a winning record against him."

"Yeah," goaded Rory, "if you count all the meaningless three-on-threes you've done. I seem to remember the one time you did a full competitive battle, he beat you."

"Did he?" said Ruth, vaguely.

"Uhuh. Your second Johto conference, last sixteen. Remember?"

Ruth did not appear to be listening to him.

* * *

"Chaaaaaaaa!"

Ash and Misty skidded to a halt as they heard the unmistakable cry of Chimchar.

"They must be nearby," said Ash, looking around frantically.

Due to the way the trees grew so close together and branched overhead, little light was able to make its way into the forest and it was difficult to see clearly.

"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"It's coming from that direction!" Ash was pointing ahead and slightly to the right.

"I can't believe how afraid of Doduo Chimchar is. I mean, it's not exactly that scary, is it?"

"Yes it is!" said Ash, defensively, hurtling towards the sound of Chimchar's voice. "It's demented!"

However, when Ash and Misty emerged into a clearing and light improved slightly, they saw that Chimchar was not yelling at Doduo.

Ash's Pokemon had climbed a tall tree and was staring down at the figure of a young man standing at the tree's base. Ash could only see the newcomer's back, but he didn't need to see any more than the purple hair.

"Paul!"

Paul turned around sharply.

"Oh, it's you," he said, indifferently. "I thought I recognised that Chimchar."

"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Paul looked up at the distressed Pokemon and sneered slightly.

"I can see that it has not progressed in the slightest under your training."

Ash gritted his teeth.

"You take that back! Chimchar's just afraid to see you in case you start treating it like dirt again!"

Paul ignored this comment and turned his back on Ash, to look up at Chimchar.

"I supposed that crazy Doduo I saw belongs to you as well, does it?" he asked, sounding as though he didn't care too much about the answer.

"Doduo's mine!" said Misty, loudly.

Paul turned back to face Misty and raised an eyebrow.

"And you are...?"

"Misty," she said hastily. "Former leader of the Cerulean City gym and future Water Pokemon Master!"

Apparently deciding that Misty was not particularly interesting, he turned back to Chimchar.

"That's right," he said to the tree, "I remember seeing a little of your first battle against Flint. You did well to progress from that group. None of the experts really gave you a chance."

Misty reddened slightly, unsure of whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"What are you doing here anyway?" demanded Ash.

Paul did not turn round as he replied.

"I heard there had been some really strong fires further into this forest. Obviously they were caused by a Pokemon; the heat is nothing like strong enough to set half a forest on fire."

"A _Pokemon_ caused the fires?" said Misty, astounded. "Why would a Pokemon do that?"

Paul shrugged.

"It doesn't really matter, but whatever Pokemon did it must be very strong."

"Oh, I get it," said Ash suddenly. "You heard about the forest fires, figured they were caused by some powerful Pokemon and now you want to catch it?"

"Wow, you're good," said Paul, sarcastically. "But now we've had our little chat, I think I'm going to continue exploring this place."

He tore his gaze away from Chimchar and looked as though he was about to start walking away. However, he hesitated and turned round to face Misty.

"Misty, if you manage to find that Doduo of yours, you should train it as much as you can. The quicker you can get it to evolve the better. A mental Dodrio is a huge force; a mental Doduo is just a bit weird."

Misty watched as Paul took his a leave, a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"So that's Paul, is it? Wow, Ash, from what you'd told me I was expecting him to act like a serial killer or something."

"You haven't seen him with his Pokemon yet," said Ash.

"Well, at least he was able to see an advantage to Doduo's personality, unlike _some people_..."

"Please don't tell me you're going to listen to him over me," said Ash, disgusted.

Misty seemed to lose her patience.

"Look, are you going to help me find Doduo or not?"

"Yes, yes, okay, just give me a minute to get Chimchar down."

"Pikachu," said Ash, turning to his shoulder, "would you climb up that tree and speak to... oh," his voice faltered. "I forgot, Pikachu's still with Brock and the other Pokemon."

Instead, Ash walked to the foot of the tree and called up to Chimchar. It took several minutes to coax it down, and when Ash succeeded, he could see that Chimchar was clearly depressed.

"Look at that!" said Ash angrily, rounding on Misty as he recalled Chimchar to its Pokeball. "Paul and Doduo have really upset it! Now it might not be ready for our battle tomorrow."

Without another word, Ash continued walking deeper into the forest, leaving Misty feeling slightly guilty as she followed.

* * *

Alice had given up trying to give Kevin advice for his match against Clair, and was now sitting next to him in the lounge, watching the experts' analysis of the round two battles.

"Well, Charles, the first of tomorrow's eight matches features ice specialist Lorelei against Frontier Brain Spenser. A tight battle, do you think?"

"Yes, I think so, Jonathan," said Goodshow, "Lorelei is a very capable trainer who had the luxury of a fairly straightforward group in round one. There is no doubt that she will find Spenser a step up in class, but she can draw encouragement from the fact that Spenser has already tasted defeat in this tournament_—_against Anabel in his final group match_. _However, I do expect Spenser to advance to the third round."

"And the other morning match, Clair against Kevin, perhaps not so close?"

Kevin scowled at the TV screen.

"Well, it would certainly appear that the dragon tamer will have too much for the youngster, having secured victory in all three of her group matches. Kevin has only used eight different Pokemon in his three matches so far. I think his lack of choice is the reason he is not expected to progress any further in the competition."

Upon hearing this, Kevin got up and stormed out of the lounge muttering to himself. Alice watched him go and considered following, but she knew better than to think she could talk Kevin out of a strop. Years of practice had taught her to stay well away from a moody Kevin_—_unless of course she felt like winding him up some more.

* * *

It had been around ten minutes since Ash had managed to get Chimchar down from the tree, and neither he nor Misty had spoken a word to each other. Misty felt as though she should make an effort to break the icy atmosphere.

"I wonder what Pokemon it was that caused the forest fires."

"Dunno," said Ash, shortly. "Probably a fire type, I suppose."

"_Well, obviously,"_ thought Misty. However, she refrained from voicing her opinion so as not to deepen Ash's bad mood.

Suddenly, there came a screech from not too far off.

"Raaaaaaaaaaa!"

Ash and Misty looked at each other and shouted in unison:

"Doduo!"

They tore towards the noise, weaving in and out of the thick trees and carefully avoiding the many roots that were protruding from the ground. As the sound of Doduo's cries grew louder, several dark shapes began to materialise in the distance. Upon reaching them, it was evident that they were Pokemon.

Red and yellow bodies, beak-like mouths, their tails lit up the forest enclosure, illuminating the scene in front of Ash and Misty.

They were Magmar. Five of them. Positioned in a circle around a terrified-looking Doduo.

"Raaaaaaaaaa!"

"Doduo!" Misty called.

At once, she wished she hadn't. The Magmar broke out of their circle and formed a line. Each one was looking daggers at Misty. She gulped.

"Uh, Ash... what now?"

Before Ash could answer, there came a voice from the other side of the line of Magmar.

"Stand by, Magmortar!"

In a flash of red, which briefly eliminated the flickering quality of the lighting, another Pokemon appeared. This one had a similar appearance to the Magmar, only it was a great deal fatter, with pink patches on its lower body.

"Magmortar, Flamethrower!"

Paul's Magmortar raised its right arm and held it out horizontally, giving it the appearance of a cannon. It released a blast of fire which enveloped the Magmar standing in the centre of the line. Despite the fact Magmar was a fire Pokemon, it was unable to take the Flamethrower attack and collapsed to the ground.

Doduo was now in plain sight of Misty, who hurled a Pokeball at the frightened bird, returning it to safety.

As the four remaining Magmar bent over their friend to assess its condition, Paul crossed over to Ash and Misty.

"Thanks, Paul!" said Misty. "I don't know how we would have_—_"

"We had the situation covered!" blurted out Ash.

Paul smirked.

"I'll leave you to it then," he said, recalling his Magmortar. "If a Pokemon can be defeated by a single attack of its own type, it's not worth having."

"You can't just leave!" shrieked Misty, panicking as she eyed the Magmar who were now starting to refocus their attention on her and Ash. "How are we supposed to deal with these?"

Paul, who had already began walking away, shouted over his shoulder:

"You have Pokemon Master in-training Ash with you. I'm sure he can deal with a few Magmar."

"Too right I can!" said Ash, feeling energised as Paul disappeared from view. He reached for his belt.

"Buizel, I choose you!"

Ash threw the Pokeball to the forest ground. It opened, but there was nothing inside.

"Ash!" yelled Misty, exasperated. "We don't have our Pokemon with us, remember?"

"Oh, yeah..."

"Magmaaaaaaaar!"

Misty shrieked as one of the Magmar shot a blast of fire just over her head.

"I can't believe Paul just left us to deal with this!" she said angrily. "I mean, we could just run, but what if they start another fire? We can't just leave them or eventually they'll destroy the entire forest!"

"No worries, Misty, I'll take care of this!"

Ash reached for his belt once more and threw another Pokeball towards the advancing Magmar.

"Go, Chimchar!"

Chimchar materialised in between Ash and the group of Magmar, looking less than happy.

"Ash, Chimchar isn't in the right state to battle just now! It doesn't have the energy!"

Ash ignored her.

"Chimchar, I know you're feeling down right now, but you're our last chance to save this forest! Can I count on you?"

Chimchar looked from Ash to the menacing squad of Magmar and back again.

"Char..." it said, doubtfully.

One of the Magmar suddenly jumped forward and battered its flaming arm against the side of Chimchar's head in a devastating Fire Punch attack, sending Chimchar rolling back towards Ash, whimpering.

Ash knelt down beside his Pokemon.

"Come on, Chimchar, just because Doduo and Paul have been having a go at you, it doesn't mean that I've stopped believing in you! It's thanks to you that we managed to have such a big victory against Pryce earlier on. You've got the ability, you just need the confidence!"

Chimchar looked into Ash's eyes and then the trainer jumped to his feet in shock. Chimchar was glowing a blinding, bright white.

When the light subsided, it was taller. Its face was rougher, its arms were thicker, its tail was burning brighter. It had evolved.

"Wow," said Ash softly, extracting his Pokedex.

"_Monferno, the Playful Pokemon and the evolved form of Chimchar. Monferno launches aerial attacks off of ceilings and walls, and its fiery tail is used as one of its weapons."_

"Alright!" said Ash, punching the air. "Let's show these Magmar a thing or two! What d'you say, Monferno?"

"Moooooooonferno!"

"Okay, Monferno, let's get a Flame Wheel into action!"

Monferno instantly curled into a fiery ball and hurled itself towards the nearest Magmar, causing it fall to the ground, knocking over one of its companions as it did so. Ash noted the speed with which Monferno had unleashed the Flame Wheel attack. It was certainly much quicker now it had evolved.

"Look out, Monferno!" called Misty.

Ash hadn't been paying attention and had missed the two remaining Magmar closing in on Monferno from either side. As one raised its fist in preparation for an attack, Ash instinctively called out:

"Monferno, get out of the way with Dig!"

Monferno dived into the soft forest ground, leaving the Magmar using Fire Punch to follow through with its attack into the other standing Magmar.

"Now, position yourself underneath the last one and come up!"

Straight away, there was a shower of earth and Monferno resurfaced, knocking Magmar down to its knees. However, this one appeared to be stronger than its cronies as it immediately sprang back to its feet and launched a Flamethrower attack. Monferno was caught unawares and staggered backwards under the force of the blast.

Ash racked his brains for a command to issue, but he could not think of anything he hadn't already tried. But then, without Ash saying anything, Monferno's right fist glowed white and it leaped towards Magmar with frightening speed, unleashing a powerful punch on the bottom of Magmar's chin.

"Monfeeernoooooooooo!"

The final Magmar fell to the ground, cross-eyed, causing Ash to leap into the air.

"Alright, Monferno, we did it!"

"Monfeeeer!"

"You were both great," said Misty, beaming. "I should never have doubted your strength, Monferno!"

Ash grinned.

"Maybe Doduo did Monferno a favour after all. If it hadn't chased Chimchar into the forest, Chimchar wouldn't have evolved and the gang of Magmar would still be at large!"

"See, I told you Doduo wasn't doing anything wrong," said Misty smugly.

"Oh don't pretend like you knew something like this was going to happen," said Ash, irritated. "You need to keep that crazy bird under control!"

"Oh, I will. I'm going to train it hard until it evolves and then I can use it on the Tour!"

"Just don't train against any of my Pokemon. I could do without another afternoon like this!"

Ash, Misty and Monferno turned away from the fainted Magmar and began making their way out of the forest.

* * *

"Piiiika!"

Pikachu leaped off Brock's stomach and cantered towards Ash and Misty. It was about to leap into Ash's arms when it skidded to a halt and stared at Monferno.

"Pii?"

"FernoMonMon!"

Pikachu sniffed Monferno up and down before announcing its approval.

"Chuu!"

"Glad to see you're in better spirits now, buddy," said Ash, smiling down at Pikachu. "Where's Brock?"

Pikachu rolled its eyes and scampered back towards the other Pokemon. Brock was lying on the grass amongst them, fast asleep.

"Wake him up for us, will you, Pikachu?"

Pikachu happily obliged.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"Aaaaaaaargh! What's going on? Where am I? What happened to all those beautiful women?"

"I think you've been dreaming, Brock," said Misty laughing.

"Feeeeerno!"

"Huh? Is that Chimchar?"

Ash and Misty looked at each other.

"I think we've got some storytelling to do..."

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Chimchar has evolved. Now obviously I know it evolved ages ago in the anime (in fact, I think it's an Infernape now) but I started writing this fic back when it was still a Chimchar. And it won't be evolving again any time soon, cause that'd be a little unrealistic._

_Anyway, this was mainly a filler chapter in that it kills time before Ash's next battle. Obviously, Chimchar's evolution was important but it was also an opportunity to give Paul some "screen time". I haven't really seen any of the DP anime so I find it hard to write Paul as confidently as I can the others. If you have any suggestions as to how I can capture his personality better, just let me know. Also, I'm not 100% as to whether he's met Misty before or not, but I don't think he has. I have notes on the relationship between all major and minor characters in this fic, so I can make the interaction more believable. Obviously with Misty and Paul I had no anime hints to work with so I just used my own ideas as to how they would get along (or not get along, as the case may be)._

_We get a brief glimpse of Team Rocket, now taking a more backstage role after their exploits in the previous two chapters. They'll be back in the thick of things when the Fuchsia Classic's over._

_Some minor scenes with Rory, Kevin and Alice, too. As well as Ruth. Clearly they're not as important as Ash, Misty and Brock at the moment, but I do plan that in the future the story won't focus quite so much on Ash, particularly when the main villains of the story are introduced._

_The next chapter will return to the battling action as Round 2 begins! Any predictions for me? Thoughts, suggestions, reactions? I hope anyone who reads will send me a review or a PM so I know what all my readers think so far :-)_


	15. Ash versus Argenta

**Chapter Fifteen: Ash versus Argenta**

The sky was growing darker as Fuchsia City prepared itself for the beginning of the night-time matches.

There had been a notable difference in the atmosphere now that the knockout stages had begun—among both the Fuchsia public and the trainers themselves. Any competitors Ash had spoken to throughout the day had seemed slightly on edge. He himself could not shake off the thought that he was only one defeat from elimination. After all, this was the first tournament of the season and he wanted to give a good account of himself. Ash had watched bits and pieces of the day's earlier matches and the stadium had been close to full for each one—something that couldn't be said for the group stage matches.

Ash, Misty and Brock walked through the electronically-operated front doors of the Fuchsia City Stadium, discussing the upcoming battle.

"You've got to remember, Ash, there are no easy matches at this stage of the tournament. We saw what happened to Paul this evening. No one is invincible."

"I know, Brock," said Ash heavily. He was growing weary of the constant words of caution coming form his older friend.

"Mind you," said Misty, "that Palmer guy he was battling seemed really tough. He's not someone I want to battle in this tour."

"I don't think you'll have much choice, Misty. You'll have to compete in so many battles over the course of the season that you're bound to run into him at least once."

The group stopped as they reached the door to the Trainers' Room, guarded by the security officer.

"Well, Ash," said Brock. "Good luck."

"Yeah. We know you'll win if you just keep your head."

Ash smiled weakly. He was starting to feel a little nervous.

"Will you take Pikachu with you? I don't think I'll be allowed to take him in with me if he's not in my team."

"Chuu..." said Pikachu miserably, as he hopped onto Misty's shoulder.

"Well," said Ash, "I guess I'll see you a little later."

And with that, he pushed open the door and entered the Trainers' Room. To his surprise, he was not the first there.

"Hey, Ash!"

It was Anabel. Ash hadn't had a chance to speak to her after her battle with Brock. He noticed how she had grown her pale purple hair down past her shoulders. Ash wondered vaguely how he had mistaken her for a boy when they first met.

"Oh, hey," he mumbled in reply.

"You've got a tough match today," she informed him. "I don't know Argenta so well, since she works in Sinnoh, but all us Frontier Brains are tough!"

"I know," he said.

Then, deciding that was a rather lame response, he cast his mind around for something else to say.

"So... uh... you're battling tonight as well then?"

"Yeah, I'm against Tucker. I can't believe it, I've been drawn against two Kanto Brains already! Obviously, those guys are some of my best friends, so it's hard to concentrate properly."

"I can imagine," said Ash truthfully, picturing himself having to battle against Brock or Misty in an official competition.

At that moment, the television screen in the corner of the room burst into life as coverage of the night's matches began.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to our coverage of the Fuchsia Classic second round here at the Fuchsia City Stadium! We have already seen six top trainers seal their place in the last sixteen and another six have seen their title challenges fall by the wayside. Tonight we will see another four hopefuls battle it out for a place in round three. We have three Frontier Brains and one young talent in action tonight, so it promises to be excellent entertainment! Later we will bring you Anabel versus Tucker, but first up is Ash against Argenta!"

"Oh," said Ash hurriedly, "I'd better go."

"Good luck, Ash!"

* * *

"Ash from Pallet Town against Argenta from Hearthome City. Select your first Pokemon!"

Ash looked up at the floodlights which had just been lit, illuminating the arena. He felt a sudden thrill of excitement as he threw his first Pokeball.

"Buizel, I choose you!"

"Go, Swampert!"

Ash winced slightly as he saw his opponent's much larger water type take the field.

"Alright," Ash muttered to himself, "Swampert's part ground type as well, so our water attacks should still be effective."

He changed his tone of voice as he issued a command to his Pokemon.

"Buizel, start the battle with an Aqua Jet!"

"Bui!"

Buizel eagerly rushed towards Swampert, spraying water as it went.

"Well, Ash and Buizel start this match with a bang!" exclaimed the announcer. "Swampert didn't have any time to defend itself, such was the speed of the attack!"

Ash could see Argenta pushing her sunglasses off her eyes and onto her forehead in order to better see the action.

"Swampert," she called, "Muddy Water attack!"

Argenta's Pokemon seemed to emit a kind of burp as it shot a wave of swamp water towards Buizel.

"Try and blow it away with SonicBoom!"

Buizel smashed its tail against the ground, but instead of sending the water off course, the wave of water was blown up into the air and crashed down on Buizel's head.

"Well," boomed the announcer, "it was obvious what Ash was trying to do, but his tactics appear to have backfired! Surely he just made Swampert's attack stronger?"

"Are you okay, Buizel?"

The plucky water Pokemon shook its head violently in order to shake off the grime.

"BuiBui!"

"Awesome!" yelled Ash. "Aqua Jet again!"

Buizel once more launched itself into an Aqua Jet attack, which its opponent was unable to evade.

"Well, it looks like Buizel's speedy attacks are proving to be a real problem for Swampert!"

As Swampert was getting back up off the ground, Ash decided to press home his advantage while he could.

"Okay, Buizel, now let's try a Water Pulse!"

Yet again, Buizel slammed its tail into the ground, this time unleashing a ring of water which travelled across the stadium floor towards Swampert.

"Swampert, Earthquake!"

"Swaaaaamp!"

Swampert jumped into the air and landed with incredible force. Ash noticed everyone in the packed stadium clutching onto their seats. He himself had to work with his balance so as not to topple from his podium. After regaining his composure, he gazed back onto the battlefield. Unfortunately, the tremor had caused the Water Pulse attack to fizzle out and Buizel was now on the ground, rubbing its head.

"Finish it! Take Down!"

Swampert positioned itself on all fours and galloped towards Buizel, kicking the sea weasel Pokemon into the base of Ash's podium.

"Buizel!" yelled Ash desperately.

"Buizel is unable to battle!" announced the referee.

"Well," said the announcer, as Ash recalled Buizel to its Pokeball, "it looks like strength has ultimately triumphed over speed. But how much has that Take Down attack taken out of Swampert?"

Ash was wondering the same thing. He guessed that Swampert didn't have a huge amount of battling left in it and it was therefore unlikely that Argenta would switch it out if she found herself in a type mismatch. He reached for his next Pokeball.

"I choose you, Sceptile!"

The crowd cheered as they realised they were about to witness a battle between the final evolutions of two of the Hoenn Region starter Pokemon.

"Okay, Sceptile, no messing around, go straight in with a Leaf Blade!"

Sceptile obliged, its arm glowing a bright green before it struck its opponent.

Swampert gave a roar of pain, but was still very much in the battle.

"Avalanche!"

Ash was suddenly worried as Swampert summoned several boulders of ice which came crashing down towards Sceptile.

"Try and dodge! Run around using Agility!"

"Well, it looks like Sceptile's incredible speed has aided it somewhat in avoiding major damage here! Of course, the user of an Avalanche attack must wait until its opponent has used an attack. If direct damage is caused then Avalanche becomes even stronger. What with Sceptile being weak to ice-type attacks, its speed may well have kept it alive here. And we now know why Argenta made no attempt to defend against the Leaf Blade attack. Some nice skill on display from both trainers here!"

The spectators applauded lightly in appreciation.

"Leaf Blade again, Sceptile! It must be nearly done!"

"Meet it head on!" screamed Argenta. "Take Down!"

"Well, it appears that Argenta knows this will be Swampert's last attack and she is unconcerned about recoil damage!" dinned the announcer. "She must be hoping that the head-on collision will give her attack even more power!"

Ash was worried that, although Swampert may be finished, the attack might take too much vital health from Sceptile. As the two Pokemon closed in on each other, Ash had a brainwave.

"Quick, Sceptile, move to the side and use the Leaf Blade to trip it up!"

"Scept!"

Sceptile did as instructed, and the plan worked to perfection. Just as the two Pokemon were about to collide, Sceptile stepped aside and stuck out its arm, causing Swampert to go flying.

"Finish it! Pound!"

Sceptile jumped in the air, preparing to perform its signature move.

"Sceeeeeptiiiile!"

The grass Pokemon made contact with its adversary's head with a sickening crunch.

"Swampert is unable to battle!"

The crowd made a great deal of noise as Sceptile raised its arms in triumph.

By the time the applause had died down, Argenta had already sent out her next Pokemon.

"Cameruuuuuupt!"

Ash's heart sank as he saw the fire type staring down his Sceptile. He knew he now had an important decision to make: did he stick with Sceptile and get as much as he could out of it right now, or switch to someone else and risk giving Argenta a free attack? After weighing up the two options in his mind, Ash reasoned that, although Sceptile had already taken a fair bit of damage, it still had plenty left to give and would be better battling against something a little less fiery.

"Sceptile, return!"

"Well, the young Kanto trainer has decided to recall his Sceptile. A wise decision, considering the unfavourable type match-up."

Ash ran through his options in his mind. Obviously Glalie was out of the question, and he didn't want to use one of his birds before he had to. That only left one option...

"Come on out, Monferno!"

* * *

"I didn't know Ash's Chimchar evolved!" said Gary, surprised. He was sitting with Misty, Brock and Pikachu in the stands, enjoying the close start to the match.

"Yeah, it happened yesterday fighting a bunch of wild Magmar," informed Misty.

"I'm looking forward to seeing it in battle," said Brock. He had sincerely regretted nodding off and missing Ash and Misty's adventure in the forest. "Chimchar would always give everything for Ash, but it was sometimes lacking a little in physical strength."

"Monferno's the Pokemon that used to belong to that Paul guy, isn't it?" questioned Gary.

"That's right," said Brock. "And it's interesting to note that it evolved under Ash's care. According to Misty, Chimchar evolved at a moment when Ash really needed it. I doubt it would have done the same thing for Paul."

* * *

Monferno and Camerupt had spent the early stages of their battle exchanging fire attacks, without causing any visible harm to each other.

"Okay, Monferno, this time let's go in with a Mach Punch attack!"

"Feeeerno!"

"Distract it with Lava Plume!"

Fiery jets were gushing out of the humps on Camerupt's back, peppering the arena. Fortunately, Monferno was nimble enough to weave in and out of the missiles and land its Mach Punch attack directly on Camerupt's left cheek. The opposing Pokemon gave a grunt of displeasure as Monferno raced back to Ash's podium.

"Now Monferno, Flame Wheel!"

Monferno began a cartwheeling movement towards Camerupt as it became engulfed in fire.

Argenta, however, appeared unfazed by the attack as she instructed Camerupt's next move.

"Send it toppling with Magnitude!"

"Ruuuuuuuuuuuupt!"

Camerupt began stomping on the ground, causing Monferno to lose its balance and career off to the side.

"Well, what a clever attack by Argenta! She has successfully negated Monferno's move before it was even able to make contact! And now she has sent Camerupt in towards the immobile Monferno with a Take Down attack!"

Ash's mind was working furiously. It was unlikely Monferno would be able to get up before Camerupt reached it. He would have to attack from the ground.

"When it gets to you, roll underneath it and use Scratch!"

Camerupt continued its rampage towards Monferno, who was still lying on its back, when the latter rolled athletically between the legs of the eruption Pokemon and scratched its soft underbelly.

"Caaaaam!"

This time it was Camerupt's turn to fall to the ground. Conversely, Monferno was back on its feet, although it had a bruise on its face where it must have been caught by a flailing hoof. However, it was still fit for fighting.

"Get it while it's on the ground! Mach Punch!"

With lightning speed, Monferno drew back its fist and planted it in the jaw of the upturned Camerupt. Ash knew it wouldn't be getting back to its feet.

"Camerupt is unable to battle!" declared the referee.

"Ash edges into the lead for the first time in this battle!" informed the announcer.

Despite knowing this was true, Ash wasn't too comfortable with his situation. Two of his Pokemon had used up a great deal of energy, in addition to Buizel who had already been knocked out. What was more, two of his remaining Pokemon had exactly the same type combination, meaning he had fewer options in terms of looking for favourable type match-ups.

"Go, Delcatty!"

Ash's heart skipped a beat as he saw Argenta's next choice of Pokemon. Monferno had gained the fighting type when it evolved, and he could take advantage of that against normal Pokemon such as Delcatty.

"Okay, Monferno, let's get as much damage in as we can! Go for another Mach Punch!"

"Delcatty, Strength!"

Ash watched in horror as Delcatty simply raised a paw to take the Mach Punch attack. Monferno quickly withdrew its fist and shook it from side to side. It seemed that Monferno had taken more damage from the Mach Punch attack than Delcatty had.

"Now, Thunderbolt!"

Ash was taken completely by surprise as Delcatty unleashed the powerful electric attack. Monferno yelped in agony as it was thrown backwards. It lay on the ground twitching, its body occasionally flashing with the electrical charge that still remained.

"Well, that was surprising from Delcatty! But nonetheless, very effective! Surely Monferno is on the brink now?"

"Monferno! Can you get up!"

"FernoMon!"

"Alright! Good job!"

"One more attack should do it, Delcatty! Water Pulse!"

Just as Ash's Buizel had done earlier, Delcatty shot a ring of water across the ground towards Monferno.

"Jump over it and run as fast as you can towards Delcatty!"

Monferno did exactly that, easily jumping the small wall of water which had been advancing towards it.

"Now, Mach Punch!"

This time, Delcatty was unable to stop the attack.

"Wow!" exclaimed the announcer. "Some major damage was caused there! Not only is Delcatty weak to fighting type attacks, but Monferno itself is part fighting type, meaning the attack is even stronger!"

"Delcatty!" called Argenta anxiously. "Can you get up?"

Delcatty could.

"Excellent! One more Thunderbolt!"

Ash new there was no coming back from this one as Monferno once more took a strong jolt of electricity. He didn't even wait for the referee to raise his flag before recalling his Pokemon.

"You did a great job, Monferno." he said to the Pokeball. "I'm so proud of how much you've come on over the last couple of days."

He reached for another Pokeball.

"Now it's your turn, Swellow!"

* * *

"Don't be so down on yourself, Kevin!"

It was about the fifth time Alice had said that in the last few hours.

"Yeah," agreed Rory. "Clair was a tough opponent. You can't win 'em all."

"Easy for you to say," grumbled Kevin. "You've won all three of your matches and you're going to win again tomorrow..."

"Glad to see you've got confidence in me," said Rory, grinning.

"Ugh, don't stroke his ego, Kevin" said Alice, scowling at her overconfident friend. "But I suppose we have to keep supporting him, seeing as we've travelled around with him for the last few years..."

"Course you do, it's part of the deal," said Rory, his eyes fixed on the lounge's TV screen. "Oh, Delcatty's finished. Ash is ahead again."

"I'd like to see you two battle," said Alice. "I think you're pretty similar trainers."

"I think I'd have the edge if we did," said Rory, cockily. "I beat his friend Gary, remember? They're both from Pallet and started out at the same time. Those two must be pretty evenly matched, so I reckon I'd have a good chance against Ash."

"What a surprise," said Alice coolly.

"Look, I'm not trying to boast or anything. I'm just telling it like it is. Ash is a nice guy and everything, but I'm just saying I think I'd be the favourite if we battled. I mean, I was looking at the _Pokemon Periodical's_ odds for tournament winners after the knockout draw was made. They had me as sixth favourite at ten to one."

"What does that mean?" asked Alice, nonplussed.

"It means... well, it's kinda hard to explain if you're not into gambling. You understand what it means, right Kev?"

"Yeah," said Kevin, seeming to perk up slightly. "It means they think you're a lot better than you actually are."

"I resent that," said Rory, feigning indignation.

"What was I priced at?" asked Kevin, interestedly.

"Forty to one," said Rory smugly.

Kevin scoffed; Alice was wearing a blank look.

"Basically," said Rory, turning to the red-haired girl, "it means there were only two people _less_ likely to win the tournament than Kevin..."

Rory stopped speaking as he was hit in the face by a cushion.

* * *

"So, Swellow appears to be on its last legs now after that vicious Brave Bird attack from Skarmory! Can Ash find a way to stop Argenta levelling the match once more?"

Ash gritted his teeth. Since knocking out Delcatty, Swellow hadn't been able to cause any more significant damage. Skarmory's defences were so strong that Swellow's attacks seemed just to glance off.

"Alright, Swellow, let's try an Aerial Ace!"

Swellow soared lower, a determined look on its face.

"Skarmory, take to the air!"

Skarmory shot up into the sky, causing Swellow to miss its target and do a U-turn.

"Wing Attack, Swellow!"

"Steel Wing!"

The two flying Pokemon came to a head, lashing out with their wings as though they were swords. Predictably, Skarmory's Steel Wing attack proved the stronger, knocking Swellow down.

"_It's no use,"_ Ash though desperately, _"everything I do, she always has something stronger."_

"Brave Bird one more time!" Argenta yelled.

Swellow was in no mood to fight back as Skarmory rushed towards it—and this didn't change after the collision.

"Swellow is unable to battle!"

* * *

"Wow," said Misty, "that Skarmory's tough."

"It wasn't a good match-up for Ash at all," Gary pointed out. "None of Swellow's attacks could really do anything."

They joined in the applause as Ash sent out Glalie.

"Ash was hoping to use Glalie against Tropius I think," said Brock, his arms folded, "but he doesn't have much choice. If Glalie faints, he'll only have Sceptile and Staraptor left, neither of whom you'd really want to be using against a Skarmory. Ash had better hope Glalie can pull through, otherwise he's gonna have a very tough time winning this match and staying in the tournament."

"PiPikachu," agreed Pikachu sagely.

* * *

"Alright Glalie, we need to win this one! Let's start with a Double Team!"

Glalie immediately created several replicas of itself, which surrounded Skarmory, causing the steel bird to look from one to the next, wearing a panicky expression.

Argenta seemed to be trying to calm Skarmory down by keeping her voice calm as she issued the next command.

"Fly up as high as you can, Skarmory."

Skarmory did so, and the circle of Glalie followed.

"So Argenta wants to take this battle into the sky! That doesn't seem to be a problem for Glalie who, although not a flying type, is more than able to battle in mid-air!"

"Now, Skarmory, find the real Glalie! Fly round the circle, cutting through them with a Steel Wing!"

Skarmory swooped towards the nearest Glalie, its gleaming wing outstretched. Two fake Glalie had vanished before Ash yelled:

"Ice Beam, now!"

Glalie fired a string of ice towards the onrushing bird, freezing the tip of its right wing.

"Well, it looks like Ash has finally caused Skarmory some discomfort!" the announcer informed the cheering crowd. "Perhaps now Skarmory's Steel Wing attack will be ineffective?"

"No matter," said Argenta, "let's dive in with a Brave Bird!"

"Glalie, come back towards me!" yelled Ash, in a moment of inspiration. "And try not to let it catch you!"

Glalie did as Ash asked, trying to out-speed its pursuer. However, Skarmory had almost caught up as Glalie neared Ash's podium.

"Now, Double Team again!"

Once more, Glalie split into several copies of itself, this time in a straight line. Skarmory made a beeline for the central one, assuming this was the original.

It wasn't.

Skarmory sailed right through the Glalie copy and collided with Ash's podium, causing a loud groan to go up in the crowd. Argenta could only watch on helplessly as Skarmory sank to the ground, immobilised.

The referee was on the scene.

"Skarmory is unable to battle!"

For the first time in the match, Ash jumped up and down, really letting out his emotions. That knockout was a very significant one in his mind. He felt as though the way to victory was now clear.

"Alright!" he whooped. "Way to go, Glalie!"

"Glaaaaaii!"

"Ash lets his feelings be known as Argenta deliberates her penultimate choice of Pokemon! Who will it be?"

"Come on out, Mamoswine!"

"Mamoooo!"

The Fuchsia crowd gasped at seeing such an impressive Pokemon. Much cheering and whistling followed the initial surprise.

"Well, this is a popular choice by Argenta!" The crowd cheered some more. "And now we have a battle between two ice types! Of course, Mamoswine is also part ground, which means that Glalie will be able to use its ice attacks with more confidence than its opponent!"

"Alright Glalie, let's start off with an Ice Beam!"

"Counter it with Mud Bomb!"

Glalie breathed a jet of solid ice towards Mamoswine, but before it could arrive at its destination it was met with the Mud Bomb attack, creating a small explosion between the two combatants.

"This time go straight in with a Headbutt!"

"Take Down!"

"Well, it seems as though Argenta likes her Take Down attacks! This is the third of her Pokemon to use the move. I hope she's remembering that Take Down also does damage to the user!"

The crowd drew its collective breath as the two Pokemon clashed in the centre of the arena. Ash was looking on apprehensively to see if Glalie had managed to get the better of the coming together.

It seemed that it had. Glalie's attack must have been at least as strong as Mamoswine's because the twin tusk Pokemon slid back a few feet, although this may have been down to the recoil damage caused by Take Down.

"Same again, Glalie! Another Headbutt!"

Glalie flew back towards Ash before initiating its attack so that it had a longer run-up to gain momentum.

"Ancient Power!"

Mamoswine summoned several large rocks which spun around its body. One by one, it shot them towards Ash's Glalie, which had to zigzag through them in order to maintain its course. However, there were simply too many rocks being fired towards it and Glalie was struck by two in quick succession, ending its Headbutt attack and sending Ash's Pokemon to the ground.

"Get it with Earthquake while its on the ground!"

"Maaamoooooo!"

Mamoswine stamped its feet, causing the stadium to tremble. Glalie rolled around the arena, its hard body bashing against the solid ground.

"Try and get back in the air!" yelled Ash.

It took Glalie several seconds to find the strength to lift itself back up into the air. By the time it had managed to do so, Mamoswine had already sent a Mud Bomb attack towards the face Pokemon.

"Well, Glalie was up only for a brief moment as Mamoswine has once again struck it to the ground, and... it looks like... yes, the referee has declared Glalie unfit to continue the battle!"

Ash was worried as he returned Glalie to its Pokeball. All he had left were Sceptile and Staraptor, both of whom were weak to ice-type Pokemon. He would have to use Sceptile's grass moves and hope that they took out Mamoswine before it could get a strong ice attack in.

* * *

"He's gone with Sceptile again," Misty noted.

"He had to really," Brock pointed out. "Both his remaining Pokemon are weak to ice. At least with Sceptile he can cause major damage with its grass-type attacks. If Sceptile loses here, I can't see Ash coming back."

"The main question is how much did Sceptile's battle with Swampert take out of it?" wondered Gary.

* * *

"Give it your all, Sceptile! Leaf Blade!"

"Scept!"

Sceptile rushed towards Mamoswine, preparing its right arm for an attack.

"Ice Fang!"

Just as Sceptile brought its arm down on the enemy's back, Mamoswine clamped its jaws onto Sceptile's left leg. Both Pokemon yelled in agony, releasing themselves from each other's grasp and backing away.

"Bullet Seed!"

"Charge right through it with Take Down!"

Mamoswine stampeded forward, the seeds fired by Sceptile simply bouncing off, and crashed into the forest Pokemon's body. Sceptile fell onto its back, but Mamoswine also keeled over due to the recoil damage.

"Well, would you look at that!" exclaimed the announcer. "Both Pokemon felt the brunt of that attack and the referee is now on hand to see if the Pokemon can continue!"

The match referee was indeed looking intently from one Pokemon to the other. Suddenly, his attention became focused on Sceptile, who was showing signs of movement.

"Come on Sceptile, you can do it!" shouted Ash, desperate for Sceptile to get to its feet.

Slowly, it managed to push itself up into a standing position, although it looked in very bad shape. The referee moved his gaze back to Mamoswine, who had not budged.

"Mamoswine is unable to battle!"

Ash pumped his fist as the crowd gave a roar. He knew that Sceptile was nearly done, but if he could just get one attack in on Argenta's last Pokemon, he would gain the upper hand.

Argenta recalled Mamoswine and reached for her final Pokeball. Before throwing it into the arena, she reached to her forehead and pulled her trademark—and rather unnecessary—sunglasses back over her eyes.

"This is it then!" she called to Ash. "It's your turn, Tropius!"

The crowd showed its approval as the rather rare tropical Pokemon took to the arena with a piercing screech.

"Alright, Tropius, let's get this down to a one-on-one battle! Air Slash!"

Tropius soared towards Sceptile, preparing to land the fatal blow.

"Okay, Sceptile, jump and use Pound!"

As Tropius approached, Sceptile used its last ounces of strength to leap in the air and come crashing back down on Tropius' back. However, in the aftermath of the attack, Tropius completed its Air Slash and sent Sceptile tumbling back towards Ash, who knew his Pokemon would not be able to get up this time.

"Sceptile is unable to battle!" declared the referee.

Ash was satisfied as he recalled his Pokemon. Sceptile had done its job in slightly weakening Tropius. Ash knew he was now in a position to finish the match off.

"I choose you, Staraptor!"

Staraptor burst from its Pokeball screeching in a similar manner to Tropius.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, this battle is reaching its climax! Ash's Staraptor is the favourite to prevail here in this battle between two flying types. Not only has Tropius already sustained damage, but its dual typing could be a real problem here as grass Pokemon are weak to flying-type attacks!"

"Staraptor, Aerial Ace!" commanded Ash.

"You can't out-speed it, Tropius, just blow it off course with Gust!"

Tropius sent a ferocious blast of wind towards Staraptor, who was in the middle of an acrobatic dive.

"Staaaaaar!"

Staraptor was only partially able to navigate round the Gust attack, succeeding in catching the side of Tropius with its Aerial Ace. Having not been a head-on collision, Ash knew the attack hadn't caused as much damage as he would have wanted.

"Tropius, Magical Leaf!"

Ash was surprised to hear Argenta order a grass attack. Perhaps she felt that keeping Ash guessing was a better strategy than simply adhering to standard typing strategies.

"Blow the leaves away with Whirlwind!"

Staraptor successfully dispersed the flurry of leaves, leaving Tropius to beat its wings in frustration.

"Charge in with another Aerial Ace!"

"Body Slam it to the ground!"

The two Pokemon flew towards each other, Tropius at a slightly higher elevation. Staraptor shot up towards Tropius' underbelly and crashed straight into the target.

"Well, it looks like Tropius took heavy damage from that attack! But look at this! Here's the Body Slam now! Tropius, who is equally potent on the ground, is trying to bring Staraptor down and out of its comfort zone!"

And Tropius was succeeding. It was significantly heavier than Staraptor and therefore able to crush Staraptor into the arena floor with little effort.

Despite the crowd's groan, Ash felt he had an opportunity now that both Pokemon were on the ground.

"Close Combat, Staraptor!"

"Raaaaaaaaaaaptor!"

Staraptor squeezed itself out from underneath Tropius and began a full frontal assault on the grass type, flailing its wings at jabbing its beak incessantly. Tropius let out a piercing screech.

"Tropius!" yelled Argenta, panicking at the evident distress of her Pokemon.

"Finish it before it can get away! Wing Attack!"

Staraptor drew back its right wing and slashed it into the side of Tropius, causing super-effective damage. The tropical Pokemon gave one final cry of pain before tipping over onto its side.

"Tropius is unable to battle! Ash from Pallet Town wins the match six-five!"

The crowd exploded with noise. It was amazing how they seemed ten times as loud to Ash now the match was over. He was able to properly take in the atmosphere as he descended the steps onto the battlefield. The floodlights illuminated the arena, making the many scratches and dents in the ground stand out more than was normal. The spectators were on their feet, the announcer happily informing them that Ash had secured his place in the third round. Staraptor was gliding around the stadium, its shadow projected onto the arena floor. Ash embraced it as it flew down to greet him.

"You were great, Staraptor!"

"Staaaaaaaraptor!"

Ash activated its Pokeball, causing Staraptor to be sucked inside in a flash of red. He continued walking into the centre of the arena where Argenta met him. They shook hands.

"That was a great battle, Ash," she said, removing her sunglasses once more. "I wish you all the best for the rest of the tournament and I hope to battle you later on in the Tour!"

"Thanks Argenta, I really hope we do battle again!"

They broke away from their handshake.

"I was disappointed you didn't use your Pikachu, Ash," she said. "I had three ground-types in my team specially to counter it!"

Ash grinned as he heard this. It had been a tough decision not to use Pikachu, but maybe it was a decision that had kept his Fuchsia Classic title challenge alive.

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Ash wins a tight match with Argenta and secures his place in the last 16 of the Fuchsia Classic. Another eight matches will take place "tomorrow", including Rory vs Sabrina, Misty vs Bertha, Wake vs Gary and Steven vs Cynthia. So that promises to be an action-packed day of battling. Haven't quite decided how I'm going to cover it yet, but I certainly won't be describing any of the battles in full like I did with Ash's._

_I've talked about my approach to battles before and how I can't possibly describe every battle containing a main character in great detail, but I try to select the most important ones and break them up with occasional cuts away to other viewpoints (e.g. Misty, Brock, Gary in the stands; Rory, Kevin, Alice in the hotel). I'd like to know how you feel about battling chapters. Do you enjoy them? Or d'you prefer chapters more focused on other subplots and character development?_

_As usual, I want to know what everyone's thinking about the fic. I appreciate all reviews, no matter what the subject or opinion and I'll do my best to get back to you with a PM :-)_


	16. Challenges and Champions

**Chapter Sixteen: Challenges and Champions**

The afternoon sun was high in the air, shining down over the coastline. Small waves were lapping onto the hot sand, occasionally depositing an oddly-shaped sea shell or two. This particular body of water separated Fuchsia City from Cinnabar Island and was famous for being the location of the Seafoam Islands.

Rory, Kevin and Alice were lying by that very sea, on a beach just to the south of Fuchsia City. The trio had decided to take some time to relax after Rory's victory in the Fuchsia Classic that morning.

"You know, Rory," said Kevin, "you need to hurry up and lose. I'm getting bored of Fuchsia."

"You mean you don't like lying on beaches doing nothing?" asked Alice lazily, her eyes closed so that she wasn't looking directly up at the sun.

"Of course he doesn't," interjected Rory. "He's never happy unless he's challenging someone at something or other. He's just in a bad mood because he got knocked out in the second round—"

"I am _not_ in a bad mood, I was just saying this place is starting to get boring." Kevin was sitting up now.

"What are you on about? There's loads of stuff to do... go to the Safari Zone, go to the stadium to watch the battles, harass trainers in the hotel until they give you a battle..."

"I've done all that stuff already," sad Kevin, annoyed. "What match is on just now anyway?"

* * *

"And Hippowdon's Crunch attack was just too strong for Dewgong! Misty was only able to get one strong Ice Beam in and that wasn't enough to stop Bertha from levelling this match at two-all!"

Ash and Brock did not join in with the applauding crowd.

"This has been a pretty close start," said Brock. "She's holding her own against a really strong trainer."

"I think she could go on to win this match!" said Ash excitedly. "If Bertha has many more ground types in her team, Misty should have the advantage."

* * *

"I tell you what," said Kevin excitedly, "how about we have a battle, Rory?"

"Oh come on, I've just spent the morning battling."

"Well, how about a race then?"

"A _race_?" interjected Alice, sceptically. "Why would you want to have a race?"

"Because he's too afraid to lose to me in a battle," said Kevin confidently.

"What are you on about? I almost never lose to you!"

"Come on," coaxed Kevin, his brown eyes gleaming with anticipation, "race me! I'll ride on my Houndoom and you can pick any Pokemon you like. First to reach the Safari Zone and back is the winner!"

"Don't be so ridiculous!" said Alice, scornfully. "You'd look like a pair of idiots."

However, this did not appear to bother Rory. He had got to his feet, a wide grin on his face.

"You're on!" he said, raising a Pokeball in front of him aggressively. "I choose Manectric!"

"You two are so childish, it's unreal!" said Alice, running her hands through her fiery-red hair in exasperation. "You've always been like this, ever since I met you. You can't go five minutes without doing some kind of challenge!"

"It's good fun," Kevin assured her, clambering onto the back of the Houndoom he had just sent out. "I don't get why you never join in."

"Because I don't want people to think I've got something wrong with me!"

"Ouch, that hurt, Alice," said Rory, clutching his heart in mock trauma. "See you back here in a bit!"

And without another word, the two boys and their Pokemon shot off into the distance, leaving Alice with nothing left to do but shake her head in disbelief.

"_Some people never change..."

* * *

_

The crowd was making a great deal of noise, preventing Misty from concentrating fully. But she didn't need to concentrate for this decision. She only had one Pokemon left and she was going to have to hope for the best.

"Go, Starmie!"

"And the former Cerulean Gym Leader reveals yet another water type—her sixth in total! It is now evident why Bertha picked her relatively inexperienced Roserade for this battle. She knew it would have the advantage against Misty's water Pokemon, and so it has proved! Can Roserade continue on from its defeats of Gyarados and Corsola to complete a stunning come-from-behind victory? Or will Misty's Starmie be one Pokemon too many? Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to find out!"

"Starmie, Bubblebeam!"

"Roserade, Magical Leaf!

Starmie shot a jet of bubbles towards Roserade at frightening speed, but the grass Pokemon was able to burst each and every one with its leaves.

"Get stuck in with a Tackle attack!"

"Leech Seed!"

Starmie clattered into Roserade, sending it rolling back towards Bertha's podium. However, when the Pokemon made contact, Roserade had left its Leech Seed on Starmie's body. The seed sprouted several vines which wrapped themselves around Misty's Pokemon, visibly sapping away its strength.

"Wow!" exclaimed the announcer. "Bertha has taken a big risk in electing not to defend against that Tackle attack! She must believe that the Leech Seed damage will mount up and give her the edge in the long run. However, Roserade has been out there for a long time and must now be getting tired. Can Misty finish Bertha off before all of Starmie's health is drained?"

Misty frowned. She knew the announcer was right; she would have to end the battle soon. It was time to see if the training they had been doing together at the Cerulean Gym had paid off.

"Starmie, use Psychic!"

The crowd gasped as the jewel in the centre of the starfish Pokemon began flashing a magnificent ruby-red. Roserade was lifted into the air and began moving its limbs in unnatural directions, as though it were some kind of marionette.

"Well, would you look at this! Not everybody knows it, but Roserade is part poison-type Pokemon, meaning it suffers a great deal of damage from psychic attacks!"

Bertha, it seemed, did know this. There was a look of extreme concern as she ordered her next attack.

"Petal Dance, Roserade! We need to finish this!"

"So do we, Starmie! Throw it into the air and Tackle it!"

Starmie finished off its Psychic attack by tossing its opponent high into the air and speeding after it, trying to ignore the parasitic vines which had enveloped its body.

"Weave between the petals!"

Starmie did as Misty instructed, ducking in between the streams of pink petals floating towards it.

"Rooooooooooose!"

Starmie collided into Roserade as it was falling back towards the arena floor, causing the Petal Dance attack to cease immediately. The Leech Seed also vanished. That could mean only one thing.

"Roserade is unable to battle! Misty from Cerulean City wins the match six-five!"

* * *

Alice was pacing the beach, every so often kicking up a cloud of sand in her bad mood. She did not know why she was feeling so irritated. Rory and Kevin had always behaved like idiots—it wasn't like it was something new. But then maybe that was the problem. They had _always_ behaved like idiots.

It was a long time since the three of them had met back in Goldenrod City. Rory and Alice had been twelve; Kevin just eleven. She remembered being in the Pokemon Centre when Rory had challenged her to a battle. Naturally, she had declined as at the time she had not been very keen on the idea of making Pokemon fight. What was more, she only had Chikorita and Butterfree then. In the end, Kevin, who had overheard the conversation between Rory and Alice, challenged Rory to a battle instead. That was when it all began.

Alice had decided to watch the battle, in the hope of seeing some new kinds of Pokemon. She had always dreamed of one day becoming a leading female Pokemon professor and intended to study as many different species as she could find on her journey. As it turned out, she knew much more about Pokemon than either Rory or Kevin, and it was largely because of her help that Rory's Poliwag had managed to beat Kevin's Aron. Typically, Kevin moaned at her for helping Rory, saying that was the only reason he won. Although he was probably right.

Ever since that day, the three of them had travelled together and grown really close. Alice had taught the boys everything she knew about Pokemon, and they in turn had taught her to appreciate battling—to understand that it was a fine art, which took a lot of skill to master. Of course, Alice had plenty of skill—in fact, more than either of her two friends—but it took a long time for her to decide to join the boys in competing at regional championships. By the time she had started, Rory and Kevin had far surpassed her in terms of battling ability. However, competing in the Johto and Hoenn leagues had ignited Alice's dormant passion for Pokemon battling, and spurred her on to become a stronger trainer. She was now more than a match for Kevin, who had always overvalued Pokemon's strength rather than some of the more subtle advantages that could be gained in a battle. Rory, on the other hand, was the best battler Alice knew. He had a fantastically balanced team of Pokemon and knew how to exploit his opponents' weaknesses. He had more willpower than Kevin did, and would never get down when he was behind. If he had even a single Pokemon left, there was always a chance he could win the battle.

But despite all the things she loved about her friends, Alice could not stand their constant determination to get the better of one another. Now that the trio were well into their teenage years, Alice had expected it to fizzle out. But it seemed that they still hadn't grown up. Rory, at least, was mature enough to take on board any advice Alice gave him—even if he still acted like a child when with Kevin. However, Kevin seemed determined not to accept help from her. Maybe it all stemmed from his very first battle with Rory. Alice wasn't sure. But what she did know was that if Kevin was to make an impact on the Masters Tour, he would need to mellow out and understand that she was always there to help him. And she always had been.

* * *

"Well, it looks like Gary is going to recall his Electivire here! He knows its electric attacks will be of no use against Wake's Quagsire. Which Pokemon will he select now?"

Gary threw a Pokeball into the arena, which burst open to reveal a large turtle with powerful cannons protruding from its shell.

"Alright!" exclaimed Ash. "He's gone with Blastoise!"

"That was his very first Pokemon, wasn't it?" asked Brock, his eyes fixed intently on the battle.

"Yeah," said Ash. "It was no match for my Charizard when we met in the Johto League though."

"Yeah, that was some battle," said a third voice.

Ash and Brock tore their eyes away from Blastoise, who had just used a Hydro Pump attack, to see Misty sliding her way along the row of seats, apologising to the spectators she passed in front of.

"Hey, Misty! Congratulations!" said Ash, as Misty took the seat next to him.

"Thanks," she said grinning. "I still can't believe I managed to beat Bertha."

"You battled better than I've ever seen you," complimented Brock. "You did well in your first three battles, but you really pulled out all the stops there!"

"Well, it did me a lot of good going back to the gym when you two were travelling through Hoenn and Sinnoh. I got plenty competitive battling experience."

"It's just a shame you've only got water types," said Ash. "You'd have so many more options if you caught some Pokemon of other types."

"I've got Doduo," she said defensively.

"Yeah..." said Ash doubtfully.

* * *

Alice was still deep in thought when she heard a rhythmic thudding noise from up ahead. She focussed her attention away from the sea and towards the city in order to see where the noise was coming from. Immediately, she realised what was making the noise and groaned.

A blue and yellow dog-like Pokemon was thundering towards her, bearing a rider on its back. The Pokemon skidded to a halt right in front of Alice, causing a cloud of dust to fly up into her eyes.

"Oops, sorry, Alice," said Rory, dismounting Manectric.

"It's alright," she said heavily, rubbing her eyes.

"Looks like I'm the winner," Rory announced happily, looking back over his shoulder for any sign of Kevin.

"I'm not surprised," said Alice flatly.

"Quite right," said Rory with an approving nod. "My riding skills are far better than—"

"Not because of that," Alice cut in impatiently. "Manectric are faster than Houndoom in general. It wasn't really a fair contest."

"Yeah, yeah," said Rory, waving a hand impatiently, "but I still had to train Manectric so he could get the full potential out of his speed."

Alice didn't reply. Rory could see she was looking rather glum, and he felt slightly guilty.

"Look, Alice, I know Kevin and I can be a bit frustrating sometimes, but that's how we are. We like to compete. It's always been the same."

"I know it has," said Alice, rolling her eyes. "I feel like we've had this conversation a million times."

Rory was spared the difficulty of thinking of something to say when the sound of another onrushing Pokemon surfaced.

Kevin held tightly on to Houndoom's neck as the dark Pokemon as it skidded to a halt and, just like Manectric, sprayed sand into Alice's face. Kevin appeared not to notice.

"How long have you been back?" asked Kevin, indignantly.

"About five minutes," said Rory, watching Alice rub sand from her eyes.

"No way have you been here five minutes!"

"He hasn't been here five minutes," said Alice wearily.

"I have. She was just enjoying admiring Manectric's speed so much that she hasn't noticed how much time has passed."

"That's rubbish," said Alice, managing to laugh.

"Anyway, I'm starving after that," said Kevin, rubbing his stomach a little. "How about we go get something to eat?"

"Yeah," agreed Rory, "and then tonight we can go along to see Steven against Cynthia. Sound good, Alice?"

"Sounds great!"

* * *

"Scizor is unable to battle! Wake from Pastoria City wins the match six-five!"

Ash, Misty and Brock were speechless as they watched Gary bow his head and recall his beaten Pokemon before walking down into the arena to congratulate his opponent.

"Well, Wake's signature Floatzel clinches him a place in the third round and we now only have four more matches left to complete. Come back to this wonderful stadium in a couple of hours' time to see Noland versus Roark, followed by Chuck against Flint! And, of course, the second round will reach its conclusion under the floodlights tonight with the much anticipated clash between Steven and Cynthia, as well as Volkner against Candice! We hope to see you later!"

Ash watched Wake and Gary disappear into the tunnel which led back into the Trainers' Room.

"I really thought Gary was going to win today," he said, disappointed.

"But you've got to remember that he hasn't battled competitively for years," said Brock. "It'll take him some time to get back to the form he was in at the Johto League Championships."

Ash didn't reply as he joined the others in making his way out of the stadium. The truth was that he hadn't even given a thought to the fact that Gary had gone so long without battling. But as the tournament was progressing, Ash was seeing more and more evidence of what Gary had told him before it had even started: without the right preparation, there was no chance of victory.

* * *

"I'm bored," complained James.

"And I'm hungry," moaned Meowth.

Jessie glared at the pair of them.

"We're here on a mission for Team Rocket," she reminded them. "For once, we've managed to gain the Boss's trust and all you can do is complain!"

"But Jessie, we've been stuck in this cabin for three days," implored James.

"Yeah, and der's nothin' to do and we've finished all da grub!"

"Well, it is true that it's a crime for a beautiful woman to be confined to a shed," conceded Jessie, "but I'm willing to make this sacrifice!"

"Is she talking about herself?" whispered James.

"Must be," replied Meowth. "maybe all dis time in here's made her go loopy."

* * *

Night had fallen and the streets of Fuchsia City were quiet. Despite the many attractions in the area, it appeared as if the city had all congregated in one place on this particular evening.

The din around the massive stadium was incredible. For the first time during the Fuchsia Classic, every seat had been filled. It appeared no Pokemon battle had manage to capture the minds of the Fuchsia public quite like this one. A tussle of champions; a duel between two of the greatest Pokemon trainers in existence. And it was about to reach a climax in the only fitting way: a head-to-head clash between two powerful Pokemon.

"And here we go!" the announcer's voice was hoarse. "The most eagerly-awaited battle of the inaugural Masters Tour is about to end, but we still do not know which of these battle-hardened warriors will take their place in the next round! There has been nothing between the two up until this point, but now something will have to give! It's Steven's Metagross against Cynthia's Garchomp! This is truly what the Pokemon Masters Tour is all about!"

The crowd screamed its approval. Rory, Kevin and Alice were on their feet, joining in the standing ovation preceding the final confrontation. Rory had never seen either of these trainers battling live before and it had been something to behold. The Pokemon used by the two trainers seemed different—so much stronger than other Pokemon of the same species. The standard of battling was as high as Rory had ever seen. And now he was about to witness a captivating conclusion between, not only two of the most famous trainers in the competition, but two of the most renowned Pokemon.

"Garchomp! Earthquake!"

Cynthia swept her long blonde hair violently from her eyes as she issued the command.

"Get in the air with Magnet Rise!"

Metagross rose into the air so as not to feel the force of the trembling ground.

"Well, Steven obviously knows that a Steel-type such as Metagross is very susceptible to an Earthquake attack and he has ordered his Pokemon to leave the ground. How will Cynthia react?"

The announcer was clearly struggling to keep up with the speed of the battle, as Garchomp had already fired a Flamethrower in Metagross' direction.

"Ouch, a big hit to Metagross there! That must have worried Steven. Or perhaps he thought it was better to take a Flamethrower than an Earthquake due to the lack of same type attack bonus?"

"Meteor Mash, Metagross!"

Metagross' leg suddenly glowed with a blindingly strong light. It soared towards its opponent and hammered its stomach.

Garchomp gave an almighty roar—whether in pain or rage it was hard to tell—as it suffered the blow. Cynthia immediately ordered a response.

"Come on, Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"

Garchomp did not stop roaring as it rocketed towards Metagross, preparing for a head-on collision.

"Zen Headbutt!"

The crowd gasped in shock as Steven made no attempt to defend Metagross from the Dragon Rush attack. The two titans clashed in the very centre of the arena, creating a noise that was audible even above the racket coming from the stands.

"Well, would you believe it?" exclaimed the announcer. "Steven obviously believes his Metagross is able to take the force of a head-on attack from Garchomp. Who has come out on top here? Your guess is as good as mine!"

It appeared that Garchomp had gained the upper hand. Cynthia's Pokemon was emitting boastful roars as Metagross visibly winced from the damage it had taken.

"Another Dragon Rush, Garchomp!"

"Iron Defence this time!"

Another collision, another bang. On this occasion, Metagross solidified its body, causing Garchomp to glide away, clutching its head.

"We need to attack it again, Garchomp! Don't go head-on this time, Dragon Claw!"

"Reflect!"

"Change to a Brick Break!"

* * *

Up in the stands, Ash shouted out in surprise at the sudden increase in pace of the action. He saw Metagross create a transparent barrier as Garchomp approached, only for it to be shattered by the dragon's attack.

"What happened there?" Misty asked Brock, having to shout above the noise of the crowd.

"Steven tried to block the Dragon Claw attack by using Reflect, but Cynthia was too quick for him. She ordered a Brick Break attack, which can destroy the barrier built by Reflect. It was as though she knew it was coming."

"Wow," marvelled Ash. "She really is an awesome battler."

"Yeah," replied Brock, suddenly developing a pink tinge across his face, "and she's really good-looking!"

Misty glared at him.

"Stop watching her and start watching the battle!"

"PikaPika!"

* * *

Steven appeared taken aback by the speed with which Cynthia had reacted to the situation.

"Come on, Metagross, we need to sharpen up! Use Agility!"

The iron leg Pokemon began to speed around the arena, causing Garchomp to spin around in circles in an effort not to lose sight of its enemy.

"Chase after it with Giga Impact!"

"Stop and use Psychic!"

"Wow! For the first time in the battle, we get a glimpse of Metagross' psychic powers! It has completely halted Garchomp's attempted Giga Impact attack and seems to be preventing any kind of movement from Cynthia's Pokemon!"

"Stay strong, Garchomp!" encouraged its trainer. "If you can't move then let's attack from range. Flamethrower again!"

Metagross, who was unable to defend due to all its concentration being focussed on the Psychic attack, was engulfed in flames. It fell from the air to the arena floor and looked in severe pain.

"Metagross, you need to get up!"

"Quick, Garchomp, now's your chance! Earthquake!"

Garchomp descended at frightening speed and clattered into the ground, causing the entire stadium to tremble. Metagross was sent bouncing around the arena, bellowing every time its solid body made contact with the hard ground.

After a few seconds, the Earthquake subsided. Garchomp was panting from the effort; Metagross had been flipped onto its back by the violently trembling floor.

The referee, who had had to speedily jump to his feet, also having fallen foul of the Earthquake attack, was inspecting Metagross very closely. For once, a hushed silence fell over the spectators. However, this was broken immediately following the official's declaration.

"Metagross is unable to battle! Cynthia from Celestic Town wins the match six-five!"

Every person inside Fuchsia City Stadium got to his or her feet, showing appreciation for the magnificent performance by both trainers. The noise reached a crescendo as the two black-clad competitors shook hands and exchanged a few private words.

"Well, there we are, folks! It's Sinnoh's Cynthia who will be taking her place in tomorrow's draw for the round of sixteen after unquestionably the most enthralling battle of the championship so far! Surely few people would bet against this young woman powering her way to the title, but there is still some strong competition left in the field!"

Somewhere amongst the tens of thousands of spectators, the announcer's words had left a significant mark. Ash and Misty watched on nervously as Cynthia waved to the crowd. What they had just witnessed was a classy performance from a top-quality trainer. And they were both thinking the same thing:

"_I could be her next victim..."

* * *

_

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Bits and pieces of various things going on in this chapter. Misty is through to the next round, Gary loses. Cynthia beats Steven and is now the favourite to win the competition. There is also a lot of information about the relationship between Rory, Kevin and Alice in this chapter. I realise it's not something I've done an awful lot of so far, and I hope that this chapter helps the characters to be more than just names. That said, I have always had specific personalities attached to these characters in my mind, so hopefully anyone going back and reading earlier chapters will find their behaviour fits in with the revelations in this chapter._

_The truth is, this was an awkward chapter to write. I knew I had three important battles that the reader would need to know the result of, so I dealt with that as best I could. The next chapter will contain the draw for the last sixteen of the tournament, and most likely a small sub-plot, similar to chapter 8 or 14._

_I'd like to thank all of you who are reviewing, and I do my best to PM a reply to those that do. It frustrates me when I receive anonymous reviews because I can't reply directly to them. In response to **lightningblade49**, I do intend for Charizard (and others) to make appearances throughout this fic, as the season is very long and Ash will need all the help he can get. However, don't expect Charizard to participate during the Fuchsia Classic. His time will come :-)_

_So, as usual, I welcome any review or PM with questions/comments/theories about this fic. If you don't know what to say, let me know who you think will win the Fuchsia Classic? Who will Ash be drawn against in the next round? Will Kevin ever grow up? Let me know what you're thinking :-)_


	17. A Multiway Melee

**Chapter Seventeen: A Multi-way Melee**

**CYNTHIA DEFEATS STEVEN IN THRILLER**

_A packed Fuchsia City Stadium last night watched Cynthia beat Steven 6-5 in the second round of the Fuchsia Classic. The quality on display from both trainers was magnificent and Cynthia will now take the tag of tournament favourite into this evening's draw for the last 16. Lance, possibly Cynthia's biggest title rival, also made it through with a 6-4 defeat of Byron. For full match reports, see overleaf._

Due the excitement of the previous night, Ash had treated himself to a long lie and consequently missed breakfast. He was slouched on a leather sofa in the lounge, the _Periodical_ lying on his lap. Brock and Misty had joined him a few minutes previously and the group were now discussing the fast-approaching third round draw.

"I do _not_ want to battle against Cynthia," said Misty fearfully. "Or is it impossible for us to be drawn together?"

Brock shook his head, knowing the question was directed at him.

"You can be drawn against anyone. The second round used the seeding system to give those who finished top of their group more chance to progress to the next round. Now that there are only sixteen trainers left, the draw is completely open. You could face any of the other remaining competitors."

"I don't know who would be the best opponent for me," said Ash, frowning. "Everybody still in the tournament is a really good trainer."

"Right," agreed Brock. "The _Periodical_ seems to have Cynthia down as the favourite to win, with Lance and Brandon not far behind. So you'll be wanting to stay clear of them. And each other, obviously," he added as an afterthought.

Ash and Misty did not say anything. They both knew perfectly well that they might have to face each other in the next round, but neither had wanted to bring up the subject.

Seeing that his friends were a little nervous, Brock decided to give them something different to think about.

"Look, there's no need to be worried about the draw. You can't to anything to influence it. How about we go out and you two can get some training done?"

Ash perked up after hearing this.

"Yeah, I want to train with some of the Pokemon I haven't used yet. I keep forgetting how many I've caught over the years."

"So where shall we go to train?" asked Misty.

Before either Ash or Brock could offer a suggestion, somebody else beat them to it.

"I think I have an idea."

It was Gary.

Ash suddenly felt a little awkward. He had not spoken to him since before his defeat to Wake. In all honesty, he didn't really know what to say. In the past, he might have gloated, but now he was starting to view Gary more and more as a companion as opposed to a rival. Thankfully, Misty came to the rescue.

"Hey, Gary. We saw your match yesterday. You were so unlucky! I think if Wake had had anyone but Floatzel as his last Pokemon you would have won."

"Yeah," said Gary carelessly, "maybe. But getting to the second round was alright for my first tournament since coming back to battling. I'm leaving for Saffron this evening to prepare for the next competition."

"You're not staying to watch me?" said Ash, disappointed.

"'Fraid not, Ash. Your battles are all the same anyway... you go ahead early on, then make a complete mess of the middle, before getting lucky at the end."

Ash could see that Gary was grinning, and wasn't entirely sure whether to take him seriously or not.

"I'm disappointed I won't get to see your match though, Misty. I saw most of your battle with Bertha from the monitor in my dressing room. You really are talented at bringing the best out of water Pokemon."

Misty was flattered by this unexpected compliment, and couldn't help but blush a little.

"Uh... thanks," she stammered.

She looked as though she was about to continue when Ash butted in.

"So what was your idea about training, Gary?"

"Oh," said Gary, turning back to Ash. "Well, I've been hearing that Flint and Volkner are organising a sort of training event thing this afternoon."

"What kind of event?"

"I dunno really... Apparently, they've been given official permission by the Pokemon League to hold these events, in an effort for people to find new ways to train."

"That sounds interesting," said Brock. "Do you think it'll be through battling?"

"Well, I heard that they're going to hold lots of challenges during the course of the Tour. I got the impression it was more about individual Pokemon than the trainers though. People have been talking about athletics-based contests and battles with unusual rules. Obviously it's all just for fun, but the Pokemon League say they want to break the monotony of training for all the Tour entrants. I mean, it does get pretty boring having to keep your team in shape all season round. The League chose Flint and Volkner to organise it, presumably because of their enthusiasm for this kind of thing."

"Yeah," said Ash, remembering meeting the two close friends. "They're a pretty crazy double act."

"So anyway, I just thought you guys might want to go. I'm certainly going to check it out. May as well stick around for it since the only reason I'd be going to Saffron is to train anyway."

"Alright!" said Ash. "I'm gonna go and transfer some Pokemon over now!"

And with that, he cast the _Periodical_ onto the sofa and bolted out of the door.

* * *

"Awesome!" said Rory and Kevin together.

Alice rolled her eyes.

"Why did you have to tell them, Ruth?" she grumbled. "Now they're going to be unbearable for the rest of the day."

"I'm surprised Rory even wants to go," said Ruth, raising her eyebrows. "I didn't think hard training was really his style..."

"Ah, but that's the best part," Rory retorted. "From what you've said, it's not going to be hard training at all! Just a bunch of cool challenges."

"Yeah," agreed Kevin. "Plus, I've already battled Volkner and I know what he's like. There's no way anything he and Flint organise will be hard work!"

Alice did not seem to be enjoying what she was hearing.

"Well, I'm not coming," she said flatly. "I've had enough of you two jumping around making fools of yourselves."

"What, us?" said Rory, innocently. "Don't worry, we'll behave ourselves. I'll keep Kevin in line for you."

"Ha! You keep me in line? That's a laugh..."

Alice turned to Ruth, clearly frustrated at the boys' behaviour.

"You see what I mean? I don't know how you put up with their constant messing around all the time."

"It is _not_ messing around," said Rory indignantly, "it's banter."

Ruth was torn between amusement at Rory's seriousness and pity at Alice's frustration.

"To be fair, Alice, you spend more time with them than I do. As soon as I met Rory I knew it would be a good idea to keep my distance. He's the kind of person that's more likeable in small doses, you know what I mean?"

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, beating down ferociously onto the tall building. Everyone inside was eager for five o'clock to arrive so they could finish work and enjoy a sunny Saffron evening. Everyone except one man.

He sat alone on the very top floor, reclining in his luxurious desk chair and running his hand along the smooth coat of a dozing Persian. All the blinds were shut, as was his preference. That way, he was able to seclude himself from the outside world; something he had done ever since he bought over the company.

The man was jerked from his sleepy state when the phone rang. He deliberately let it sound exactly three times before pressing the 'receive' button. The monitor on the wall burst into life, showing the faces of a young man and woman.

"Ah," said the man, sitting up straight when he realised who was calling. "Do you have news for me?"

The two callers seemed reluctant to answer this question. After a few moments hesitation, the woman spoke up.

"_Um, we do, Boss, but it's not the news we were hoping to bring you."_

She glanced at her green-haired companion before continuing.

"_You see, different Pokemon produce eggs at different rates. And some take longer to hatch than others. The truth is that these eggs are taking much longer to hatch than we expected..."_

The man in the office closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he spoke again, there was an icy tone to his voice.

"I chose you two specially for this job. I valued your knowledge of the breeding industry, but you are unable to provide me with the Pokemon I need. Remarkably, Jessie, James and Meowth have already completed their role in the operation. I am not used to having to wait for you two."

The pair looked stunned.

"_We're sorry, Boss,"_ grovelled the young man. _"We're shipping in a load of fire types from another centre so we can hatch the eggs faster."_

"Well, it had better be done soon. I was only able to get hold of one adult Lapras from the workers here, but he will be suspicious if I do not give it back soon. And that is the last thing I want..."

"_Of course, Boss, we'll speed things up!"_

Without another word, the man ended the call and turned back to his desk.

* * *

"Looks like this is it, guys."

Ash, Brock, Misty and Gary came to a halt next to a small group of trainers.

"Hey, Ash!" said one of the trainers.

"Hey, Anabel! How's it going?"

"Pretty good, thanks. I decided to come along here to get some extra preparation in before my third round match. There's a load of tough trainers left in the draw."

Before Ash could say anything, Rory, Kevin and Alice had come over to say hello. They were also accompanied by a trainer Ash had not met before.

"Alright, Ash?

"Hey, Rory. You looking forward to the draw tonight?"

"Sure am! Hopefully I'll get an exciting battle."

"You never know, you might get drawn against me."

"I don't think he'd like that," said the girl Ash didn't know. She had shoulder-length black hair and was almost a head shorter than Rory. "He's been telling me how he's afraid of having to battle you."

"That's not true!" he said indignantly to her. "She's lying," he assured Ash.

Ash laughed. He wasn't sure whether or not the girl was telling the truth.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Ruth," she said.

Ash was about to respond when a loud voice caught his attention.

"Well well, looks like it's all the youngsters that have turned up!"

The group all focussed on the newcomers. One was an excited-looking man with red hair in the style of an afro. The other was a slightly calmer-looking, fair-haired trainer.

"Hmm... I was hoping for a few more to turn up," commented Volkner. "I suppose that's our fault for staging this so late in the tournament."

"So, what is it we're going to be doing today?" asked Kevin eagerly.

"Ha! I'm glad you asked!" said Flint, a wide grin on his face. "Over the course of the Tour, we're going to be holding several of these training events to try and focus on the less common, but no less important, aspects of training. We'll be setting several challenges to test even the most obscure abilities of your Pokemon. You never know when they might come in useful in a battle!"

"Right," agreed Volkner. "And today's challenge is all about your Pokemon adapting to a situation where it finds itself up against it in a battle. What do you do if there are so many things going on that your Pokemon becomes confused and doesn't know which one to deal with first?"

"Like if your opponent uses Double Team, or you're in a double battle with only one Pokemon left," explained Flint.

"Well, we thought we could simulate the situation in an attempt to sharpen up your Pokemon's awareness during battle. So, today's challenge will be a straightforward, every Pokemon for himself, melee! The last one standing is victorious!"

Ash looked around at the others and saw everyone was wearing a look of surprise identical to his own. Volkner seemed to be doing a quick head count.

"It looks like there are eleven of us here all told, so we'll each pick one Pokemon and let the chaos begin!"

There was an outbreak of chatting as everyone shuffled through their Pokeballs, deciding which one to choose. Ash already knew who he was going to choose, and he had the Pokeball clutched in his hand.

"Pika!"

"Sorry buddy, I'm gonna give someone else a chance today."

Pikachu's ears drooped.

"You know," said Misty, "I'm struggling to see how this is going to be of any real use for battling during the Tour. I mean, we don't usually compete against ten opponents at once, do we?"

"To be honest, I think Flint and Volkner just want us to all have a good time," said Brock. "And if our Pokemon learn something from it then so much the better."

Flint was now addressing the group once more.

"Okay everyone, if we could all spread out in a wide circle so we have a rough area for our Pokemon to battle in."

The other trainers did as they were asked.

"A bit wider than that... a bit more... yeah, that should do it."

The trainers were so far apart that Ash could only communicate with those on either side of him by shouting.

"So, on the count of three then, release your Pokemon! One... two... three!"

"I choose you, Bayleef!"

"Sudowoodo!"

"Doduo!"

"Nidoking!"

"Poliwrath!"

"Hitmonchan!"

"Ninetales!"

"Vileplume!"

"Alakazam!"

"Raichu!"

"Rapidash!"

It was absolute mayhem. Ash had never seen anything like it. It was difficult to decide exactly what he should command Bayleef to do. His hesitancy soon cost him dearly as Alice's Ninetales launched a Flamethrower attack from distance.

"Bay!" protested Bayleef.

"Hey! That's a cheap tactic, attack us from so far away! Go after that Ninetales, Bayleef!"

"BayBay!"

Bayleef galloped towards the many-tailed fox but yelped in pain once more as its feel were hit with another fire attack.

"On second thoughts, get away from it! We'd be better off going for another Pokemon!"

"Wise move, Ash!" he could just hear Alice call from two spaces to his right.

Although he had not got off to a good start, he was by no means the only one. Anabel's Alakazam had taken an early battering from Gary's Nidoking and Brock's Sudowoodo was suffering severe punishment from the fists of Kevin's Hitmonchan. By contrast, Misty's Doduo was tearing around the makeshift arena, pecking any opponent it came across using a hit-and-run tactic.

Thankfully, Alice had now turned her attention to attacking Ruth's Vileplume, leaving Ash free to seek a different opponent. He saw Flint and Volkner had ganged up on Rory's Poliwrath and reasoned he may as well get in on the action.

"Bayleef, fire in a Razor Leaf!"

Bayleef did as Ash asked, pelting leaves towards Rory's Pokemon while keeping at a safe distance. Poliwrath countered with a Water Gun attack, but as it was so far away, Ash had time to order Bayleef to dodge. While Rory was preoccupied with stopping Ash, Volkner had taken advantage and ordered a strong Thunderbolt attack from his Raichu. Poliwrath sank to the ground and did not look like getting back up.

"Pika!" said Pikachu, clearly impressed with the Thunderbolt.

Ash saw Brock's Sudowoodo glide eerily above the battling, under the control of Anabel's Alakazam.

"Bayleef, let's help him out! Body Slam that Alakazam!"

Bayleef charged towards its target and knocked it to the ground, causing Sudowoodo to be freed.

"Thanks, Ash," called Brock, to his immediate right. "Sudowoodo, Rock Throw!"

"Bayleef, Razor Leaf!"

Ash and Brock's simultaneous ranged attacks were too much for Alakazam, who was no longer able to battle.

"Alright!" yelled Ash as the Pokemon disappeared in a flash of red light. Over at the other side of the battle area, he could see Ruth's Vileplume was also suffering the same fate, having been toasted by Alice's Ninetales.

For a moment, Ash considered joining in the brawl between Nidoking and Hitmonchan but decided against it when he saw two Pokemon making a beeline for Bayleef: Ninetales was back to complete its job, this time accompanied by Flint's Rapidash.

"Move to the side and trip them up with Vine Whip!" yelled Ash.

Bayleef jumped aside and extended its vines along the ground, causing the two fire types to stumble. Ninetales merely fell on its side, but Rapidash, such was the speed it was travelling at, careered forward and almost knocked Ash over as it tumbled past him.

"You're disqualified, Flint!" Ash heard Volkner yell. "Rapidash is outside the combat zone!"

"What? No way! Who said you get to make all the rules?"

Ash laughed at Flint's outrage, paying for his lack of concentration when Ninetales fired another Flamethrower into Bayleef. Thankfully, Volkner's Raichu launched an attack at Ninetales, drawing it into a battle and away from Ash.

While he was wondering where to go next, he heard a sickening crunch: Kevin's Hitmonchan and Gary's Nidoking had collided. However, when they broke apart, they revealed a smaller, rather squashed Pokemon.

"Doduo!" squealed Misty, somewhere from his left.

"Sorry!" he could hear Gary call. "It just ran right between us!"

Misty recalled her Doduo, leaving Ash to to scan the remaining Pokemon. He didn't want to go for Nidoking or Sudowoodo as he, Brock, Gary and Misty seemed to have reached a silent agreement not to attack each other. Off to his right, he could see Sudowoodo was under attack from Raichu.

"Bayleef, Body Slam Raichu!"

"BayBay!"

Bayleef sped angrily towards Volkner's Pokemon, but never reached it. Alice's Ninetales had leaped into the grass-type's path and exploded with a powerful Fire Blast attack. There was no hope of surviving this one.

Ash grumbled as he returned Bayleef. Alice had been going at him all battle; he should have paid attention to Ninetales' position before sending Bayleef towards Raichu. As it transpired, his mistake had been even more costly as Raichu had just succeeded in defeating Brock's Sudowoodo, meaning Gary was the only one of the quartet left in action.

There were now only four Pokemon left: Nidoking and Hitmonchan were still jousting each other, while Ninetales had turned on Raichu. It seemed Alice's Pokemon had taken too much damage already, as it did not last much longer.

"RaiRai!"

"Pika!" said Pikachu, happily.

Ash smiled as he turned to his shoulder.

"You're rooting for Raichu, right?"

"PiPikachu."

Ash wasn't quite sure whether he should side with Pikachu or support Gary instead. In the end, the former seemed much more appealing.

Observing the three remaining Pokemon, it was fairly easy to see what Volkner's tactic was. Raichu was practising its Agility attack round the edge of the arena, staying deliberately away from the other two. Ash reasoned Volkner didn't want to tackle Nidoking, the ground-type, and he was probably hoping Hitmonchan would finish it off for him and take a good bit of damage in the process.

Unfortunately for Volkner, Gary and Kevin seemed to have got wind of his strategy and stopped fighting each other, turning their attention instead to the electric-type.

"Fire Punch!"

"Horn Attack!"

"Use Agility to get out of there!"

Raichu managed to speed past Nidoking, but Hitmonchan was that little bit nimbler and managed to make contact with Raichu's cheek.

"Rai," it whimpered as it keeled onto its back.

"Pii," said Pikachu, disappointed.

"Raichu's finished!" roared Flint, happily. "Unlucky, Volkner!"

Volkner was unable to stop himself retaliating as he withdrew his Pokemon.

"At least I did better than you managed!"

It was now down to the final two Pokemon. Hitmonchan and Nidoking were staring each other down and circling, never breaking eye contact.

"Hitmonchan, Mega Punch!" yelled Kevin, unable to contain himself any longer.

"Grab its fist with Strength!" countered Gary.

Nidoking slid back a little from the force of the punch, but it now had Hitmonchan in its grasp.

"Now, Thrash!"

Nidoking gave a frightening roar as it began flailing Hitmonchan around, knocking it against the ground before eventually launching it to the other side of the arena. Nidoking followed its prey in an uncontrollable rampage and smashed its body into the punching Pokemon.

There were no signs of life left in Hitmonchan.

"That's it!" declared Flint. "Nidoking is the champion! Congratulations, Gary!"

Ash joined in the applause for his old rival, although he was not entirely sure he was happy with the result. For some reason, despite the fact that he and Gary were more friendly than in the old days, he couldn't shake off the feeling that they were still competing directly against each other, each trying to out-do the other in every way possible. He wasn't entirely sure why he had had such a drastic change of heart since feeling sorry for Gary after his defeat against Wake, but there was no point trying to hide it: he couldn't stand losing to Gary.

* * *

"Well, it's been good to see you all again."

Gary was facing Ash, Misty and Brock in the hotel lobby, preparing to make his way out of Fuchsia City.

"And you," said Misty, smiling.

"I'm sure we'll meet up with you again at the Saffron Classic," said Brock.

"And hopefully I'll be hanging around for a bit longer at that tournament. I'm still feeling my way back into battling."

"You'd better hope you don't get drawn against me then," said Ash, "Or you won't be staying long at all!"

"You'd better get training then," replied Gary, smirking. "On the evidence of that challenge today, you'll need to."

Then, before Ash could retaliate, he said, "See you around then!" and walked out of the hotel.

* * *

Ash looked around the lounge nervously. They were all there: Cynthia, Lance, Rory—the lot. His next opponent was somewhere in this room and he was only minutes away from finding out his or her identity.

Ash could see that he was not the only one who was nervous about who he might face in the next round. There was a general air of tension around the room. The only ones it did not seem to affect were Cynthia and Lance, who were chatting amicably to each other. Then again, Ash thought, they were champions and surely used to nervous situations.

"Well, hello everyone!"

The weak chatter was extinguished as the Safari Zone Warden entered the lounge and stood facing the assembled crowd.

"I must once again congratulate those of you here who have made it into this draw. It seems like I keep repeating myself, but it is a remarkable achievement to advance this deep in the tournament. Just a quick word about the draw then. Unlike the last round, this will be an open draw, which means you could be drawn against any of the other remaining trainers. The matches will again take place over two days, starting the day after tomorrow. There will be a morning, afternoon, evening and night match on each day, and the ties will be played the order in which they are drawn, so you will know immediately when you are going to battle. So let's get this show on the road then!"

There was a quick burst of chatter, but it died almost instantly as the Warden dipped his hand into a bowl containing sixteen Pokeballs. He withdrew one and opened it to reveal a slip of paper.

"And the first name out is Sinnoh Champion Cynthia!"

A buzz followed this pronouncement, and everybody appeared to be saying the same thing: "Not me next..."

"And she will face off against Anabel of Kanto's Battle Frontier!"

Relieved, Ash scanned the crowd and saw Anabel wearing a grimace on her face. When he turned his attention back to the front, the Warden had just cracked open a third Pokeball.

"Flint of Sinnoh next!"

Flint's voice was clearly audible above the rest.

"Come on, Volk, it's gonna be you! I know it!"

"And he will face Ruth from Mahogany Town!"

This was greeted with some light laughter, and Ash could see a dejected look on Flint's face.

"Ah well, maybe next round..."

"The next match will be contested between... Noland of the local Battle Frontier!"

Ash's mind was racing. Maybe this would be a good time for his name to come out?

"And our very own Koga!"

There was a small cheer as the local favourite's name was announced.

"And the night match of day one will feature... Volkner of Sinnoh!"

Again, Ash thought this might be one of the better trainers for him to battle. On the other hand, it would be a disaster if Misty got drawn against the electric specialist.

"And he will battle against Ash from Pallet Town!"

Ash's heart gave a jolt. He looked across the room to the corner where Flint and Volkner were sitting and made eye contact with his opponent.

"Tough one for you, Volk," sad Flint.

"That's a pretty decent draw for you, Ash," whispered Brock, as the Warden announced that the remaining matches would take place on day two. "He's a tough trainer but there are much tougher you could have had."

Misty was rocking nervously back and forward as the Warden announced Lance's name to the crowd.

"And he will face Clair of Blackthorn City! Well, we have two Blackthorn natives and two dragon tamers! A bit of a derby match, that one!"

"Wow, I'm so glad that wasn't my name," said Misty fervently.

"You're not out of the woods yet," cautioned Brock. "There are plenty more scary names left. And there's one of them," he added, as Rory's was revealed to be the next name out of the draw

"And the young sensation from Ecruteak will do battle with... Wake of Pastoria City!"

"Wow, just think," said Ash, "that could have been Gary."

"Bet Rory's glad it's not," said Brock grimly. "He battled Gary in the group stages... I doubt he'd want to battle someone that's had a chance to learn his weaknesses."

"Spenser from Metallica Island!" announced the Warden.

"This would be a tough one for you, Misty..."

"Against Palmer, Sinnoh's Tower Tycoon!"

Ash scratched his head. There were only two trainers left to be drawn. Who was the other one? Misty and...

"Brandon, the Pyramid King!"

"Ah, I forgot about him," said Ash, heavily.

"And, of course, that only leaves Misty, Cerulean City's Water Princess!"

Ash raised his eyebrows.

"Since when were you a princess?"

Misty didn't even have the heart to yell at him. She lifted her head, which she had buried in between her knees, and looked at her two friends.

"I'm going to get absolutely destroyed."

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Ash vs Volkner, Misty vs Brandon. This chapter was good fun to write. I decided to create the Flint/Volkner challenges as interesting fillers when I'm killing time till an important event. It's much more interesting than just training. There will be more throughout the Tour._

_There was also a little on the relationship between Ash and Gary. At the start of the chapter, Ash is feeling as though Gary is becoming more of a friend than a rival, but by the end he has changed his mind again. We'll see what happens when they meet up again in Saffron._

_As usual, thanks to those of you who are reviewing. There's nothing better than seeing that others are interested in your work and have taken the time to comment. I'll reply to all reviews/questions if the reviewer has an account, but obviously I can't with anonymous reviewers, so I'll just do that here._

_**Lightningblade49** – Ash will certainly add to his squad throughout the Masters Tour, both with new Pokemon and old returning friends._

_**Pidgeot express** – I actually started writing this fic well over a year ago (I took a six month break at one point) so Ash's team in chapter 1 is the same as his team in approximately DP120. At this point, he still had Chimchar, Cyndaquil and Grotle and he hadn't caught Gible. As of this chapter, he now has Monferno, who will evolve again in the future, as will Grotle and Cyndaquil. I don't see him catching a Gible though, but I may have a change of heart :-)_

_So yeah, get in touch via a review or pm and let me know what you're thinking. Will Ash beat Volkner and continue his march towards the title? Will Misty perform the shock of all shocks and dethrone the Pyramid King? And what on earth is going on at Team Rocket? I hope to hear from you :-)_


	18. Under the Floodlights Again

**Chapter Eighteen: Under the Floodlights Again**

It had been a full twenty-four hours since the draw for the Fuchsia Classic last 16 and Ash should have been concentrating on his match the next day with Volkner. However, earlier that morning an unexpected delivery had arrived for Ash, Misty and Brock at the hotel's reception. Each trainer had been sent an official form from the Pokemon League listing all the tournaments in the Kanto quarter of the Masters Tour. Each competitor was expected to confirm which of the tournaments he or she planned to compete in—something which was causing a great deal of difficulty for Ash.

"So tell me again, Brock... how exactly do we decide which ones to enter?"

Brock let out a heavy sigh and ran his fingers through his spiky hair.

"Like I said, Ash, the tournaments are split into small groups and you have to pick a certain number from each. It's all there on the form."

Ash frowned as he examined the text in front of him.

"Yeah, but it says here to pick between zero and three of these Rank One tournaments... won't people competing in all three have an advantage since they can pick up more ranking points?"

"Not necessarily. At the end of the season, only points from some tournaments actually count. Basically what they do is they take the tournaments you performed best in and add up the points from those. Obviously the number of tournaments is the same for everyone to make it fair. You're required by the Pokemon League to participate in a certain number of tournaments throughout the season, and any extras you compete in do give you the opportunity to earn more points, but these tournaments would only replace ones you performed poorly in, not add to them. That way choosing to enter lots of tournaments won't give you such a big advantage over those who don't. You see what I mean?"

"No," said Ash blankly, "I don't."

"That was pretty complicated, Brock," said Misty. "Are you saying that your ranking points gained from each tournament are sorted into an order and the top, say, twenty totals are added to give your final score?"

"That's exactly it. And obviously you've got to remember that while winning a Rank One tournament is great, you might get more points from just reaching the semi-finals at a higher-ranked event. That's why you'll find trainers like Steven and Cynthia probably won't compete in many low-ranked tournaments. They'll be confident of earning lots of ranking points in the big tournaments and probably wouldn't gain anything from small competitions as their points won there might not make the cut at the end of the season."

Ash scratched his head with the bottom of the pen he was using.

"Are you telling me you understand this, Misty?"

He looked at her, the end of the pen now between his teeth.

"I think so. We're not all clueless, you know."

"Alright, alright, if you're so in-tune with all this ranking points stuff, you fill in your own form and I'll just pick the same events."

"I think this is something we should really discuss together," said Brock. "After all, we'll all want to go to different cities and we need to agree on a schedule that we're all happy with."

And so they did.

After a very heated debate, the trio had decided not to attend the tournaments in Viridian, Lavender and Vermilion.

"But I love the seaside!" whined Misty. "Couldn't we just go to Vermilion instead of one of the others?"

"Misty," said Brock exasperated, "I told you, we had to pick two from Pewter, Cerulean and Vermilion. It would be silly to miss Pewter or Cerulean, seeing as that's where we live!"

"Yeah, yeah," Misty grumbled.

"Anyway, it should work out for the best. When the Vermilion Classic's on, we can still go there, but instead of competing we can just relax and take in some sun."

Misty's mood became significantly better upon hearing this plan.

* * *

"Well, that Shadow Ball attack certainly packed a punch! Despite battling so well for the entire match, it appears that Anabel will finally be undone by a simple type mismatch! Is the final blow approaching?"

Cynthia brought her let arm down in front of her, pointing energetically at the wounded Espeon as she issued what was sure to be the last command.

"Finish it Spiritomb, another Shadow Ball!"

The peculiar ghost Pokemon charged up a ball of energy, glaring evilly all the while at Espeon, who was still panting from taking the last attack. Spiritomb released the Shadow Ball which engulfed Anabel's Pokemon, enveloping it in darkness. When the strange aura subsided, Espeon was on its side, eyes tightly shut.

"Espeon is unable to battle! Cynthia of Celestic Town wins the match six-five!"

* * *

As the Fuchsia crowd roared its approval, Ash looked up at the TV screen, feeling a little disappointed. Not only had Anabel lost, but the favourite for the title had survived a scare and remained in the competition.

"That was a great battle, wasn't it?" said Misty impressed.

"With two beautiful girls involved, it was always going to be that way," observed Brock.

Misty looked disgusted.

"Anabel's fifteen and Cynthia must be about thirty!"

"She's twenty-nine."

"Whatever. I'm just saying, what age range do you operate in exactly when it comes to the 'beautiful girls' department?"

"It's nothing to do with age, Misty," said Brock knowingly. "It's more about appearance and demeanour. Cynthia has an air of elegance about her unmatched by any other trainer on the Tour whereas Anabel clearly pays a lot of attention to the way she presents herself. She's also got has an unrivalled knack for sensing people's feelings—a trait which helps her surpass a lot of older girls in terms of emotional maturity."

"But you're eighteen," protested Misty. "You can't like a girl three years younger than you _and_ a woman over a decade older!"

"Of course I can," said Brock confidently. "Anyway, Anabel looks a lot older and more attractive now that she's grown her hair."

"Yeah, she does," added Ash.

Misty seemed to be turning purple after this comment, so Ash decided he had better change the subject before she began letting off any steam.

"Look, Cynthia's just entered the TV studio for an interview!"

Reluctantly, Misty turned her attention from Ash to the screen fixed onto the corner of the lounge walls. Brock did the same—albeit with much more enthusiasm.

"Congratulations, Cynthia," said Jonathan the presenter, "you've progressed into the quarter finals of the season's opening tournament. How d'you feel after that match?"

Cynthia made herself comfortable next to Charles Goodshow on the leather sofa which was at right angles to the presenter's chair and swept her lengthy blonde hair back before replying.

"Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. I've had a tough road to get here obviously, but ultimately I think that should give me a slight advantage as I get deeper into the tournament."

Brock looked dreamily up at the screen.

"You see the way she answers questions? She's so philosophical in her approach to—"

"Shut up!" hissed Misty.

Jonathan had obviously asked Cynthia another question because she was now talking through some of the details of the battle.

"—and obviously Anabel's a great young trainer and she made it really difficult for me out there. Her Espeon's such a strong Pokemon but I was lucky to have Spiritomb in reserve. It was the perfect match-up for me, to be honest."

Jonathan nodded constantly as he listened to the Sinnoh Champion's words.

"So, there are obviously another three matches to take place today. Maybe we could have your thoughts on them? Starting with Flint against Ruth?"

"Well yeah, Flint's a guy I know really well of course from when I championed the Sinnoh Elite Four, and I know he never goes into a battle giving less than a hundred percent. Having said that, he's going to have it really tough today against Ruth. Everyone's been talking about Rory being the next big thing on the Tour, but I think Ruth's slipped in under the radar a bit. She's the same age as Rory and from what I've seen of her, every bit as good a battler. It's a tough one to call really."

Charles Goodshow cleared his throat before adding his opinion.

"I absolutely agree, Cynthia, I don't think Ruth has received enough praise for her battling so far. She's won all four of her battles and, let's not forget, Flint hasn't. He lost on the opening night against young Misty from Kanto and only just made it through the group stage. I'd say Ruth is actually slight favourite."

Misty looked very pleased with herself and seemed to have forgotten her anger with Ash and Brock.

"So, looking at this evening's match between Noland and Koga... can the local hero keep up his great run?"

"I think he maybe could," said Cynthia. "Noland's a very strong trainer and would normally be a big favourite here, but strange things can happen when you've got the entire stadium—the entire city even—cheering you on. I was talking to Lance about it after he battled Koga in the group stages. He only just managed to scrape a win there and he said it was the most hostile atmosphere he's ever battled in."

"And just before you leave us, Cynthia, a word on the night match between Volkner and Ash?"

"Another close one. Volkner always gives a solid performance and Ash seems to have recovered from losing his first match and looks to be growing into this tournament nicely."

"Charles?"

"Well what interests me about this match is the possibility of a match-up between Ash's Pikachu and Volkner's Raichu. Ash actually left his mascot out of his match against Argenta but I'm sure Pikachu will make a reappearance tonight against Volkner. If it comes up against Raichu then sparks could fly quite literally!"

Jonathan grinned as he turned to the camera.

"Well, that's all to come later on. Thanks to Charles for providing analysis throughout the morning and to Cynthia for taking the time to come and speak to us. The headline from this morning then is that Cynthia has beaten Anabel six-five and becomes the first competitor to secure her place in the last eight of the Fuchsia Classic. I'll be back with Charles in a couple of hours for Flint against Ruth. Hope to see you all then!"

As the broadcast ended, Misty turned towards Ash, who instinctively recoiled.

"So, are you ready for Volkner tonight?"

"Oh," said Ash, trying not to let the relief show on his face, "yeah, I reckon so. I've got my team sorted, Pikachu's well-rested—"

"Pika!"

"—Bayleef's had a little training... I'd say I'm ready to go!"

As soon as Ash said this, the door opened and girl dressed in white and lilac entered the lounge. Her purple hair, which matched her attire, fell down past her shoulders and seemed to ripple slightly as she swung round to close the door behind her.

"Hey guys," she said rather gloomily.

"Hi Anabel," replied Ash and Brock at once.

"Sorry about your match," continued Brock.

"Don't worry about it, Brock, I suppose all things considered I did pretty well to knock out five of Cynthia's Pokemon."

"You sure did!" Ash agreed.

"I just hope you have better luck in your battle, Ash."

"Thanks," he said. Then after, a pause he gestured to Misty.

"This is Misty, Anabel... I don't think you two have met before?"

She shook her head and just about managed a weak smile as a greeting. Misty smiled in return, although it appeared even weaker than Anabel's.

Ash felt inwardly pleased that he had remembered to introduce Misty this time—he still hadn't forgotten Brock getting annoyed at him when he had failed to introduce his friends to Alice a few days before.

"So," said Brock, clearly trying to get a conversation going, "are you hanging around for the rest of the tournament?"

Anabel seemed hesitant to answer.

"Um... I'm not sure really. I guess I should probably head off to Saffron before too long, but it would be nice to watch a few of the battles."

"You can come along to watch my match with Volkner tonight if you like," suggested Ash.

"It's free access to all Tour entrants, Ash," said Misty, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to personally invite every trainer for them to be allowed into the stadium."

"I know, I know," said Ash hotly. "I just thought Anabel might like to go with you and Brock."

"Yeah, you're welcome to come and sit with us if you like," said Brock smiling.

Anabel returned the smile, now much larger than before.

"I think I might just do that, thanks. If that's okay with you, Misty?" she said, turning to the redhead.

"Of course!" replied Misty, a little too quickly.

* * *

Jessie was pacing the hut from wall to wall, clutching her rather unkempt hair.

"I swear, ten more minutes in this place and I'll go spare!" she barked.

James and Meowth exchanged glum looks. Both were slumped against the wooden wall, hugging their knees.

"Don't you two have anything to say?" spat Jessie.

"Uh..."

"Well... the Boss says he's going to give us the all-clear in the next couple of days, remember? As soon as Butch and Cassidy take care of their part in the operation."

Jessie merely snorted and began muttering to herself.

"I'll be the one taking care of Cassidy if she doesn't get a move on..."

* * *

Night had well and truly fallen.

Ash watched the stadium gradually fill up on the monitor in his dressing room. He felt very calm about the prospect that was facing him. Although he had not done a huge amount of training, Ash now felt comfortable with the situation: the stadium was close to full, the floodlights were shining—he knew that, as soon as he stepped out into the arena, he would feel at home.

* * *

"Volkner from Sunyshore City against Ash from Pallet Town. Select your first Pokemon!"

Ash reached energetically for the Pokeball on the far left of his belt and threw it into the arena. The floodlight shining above Volkner allowed Ash to see that his opponent was doing the same thing. The two Pokeballs burst open, emanating a flash of white light.

"Well, it looks like this match will begin with Ash's Gliscor against Volkner's Electivire! A great match-up for the Pallet native. Remember that, while Gliscor can fly, it is also a ground type and does therefore not take any damage from electric type attacks!"

Ash was extremely pleased when he saw Volkner's choice of Pokemon. He had suspected he would lead with an electric type and had now been proved right. So should he set up with Stealth Rock or go straight in with an attack? Gliscor didn't yet know any strong ground-type moves, so Ash reasoned it may be better to prepare a Stealth Rock, even though it wouldn't be as effective as it had been against Pryce due to the lack of ice Pokemon.

"Electivire, start with a Fire Punch!"

"Gliscor, Stealth Rock!"

Electivire charged towards Gliscor, its right fist imbued with flames. As Gliscor was busy conjuring up the Stealth Rock, it felt the full brunt of the attack. Despite the fact his Pokemon was wincing in pain, Ash felt he was at an advantage as the ring of rocks now circling below Volkner's podium would be sure to cause discomfort to any Pokemon he sent out.

"Well, a very interesting opening exchange from these two trainers!" commented the announcer. "Volkner has ordered a full-on attack while Ash is foregoing the chance to cause damage now in favour of preparing for further ahead in the battle. Was that a wise decision?"

There was a mixed response from the crowd after this pronouncement: half appeared to be cheering their approval of Ash's decision whereas the rest were keen to make their unimpressed whistles heard.

"Are you okay, Gliscor?"

"Gliii!"

"Alright! Then lets go for an X-Scissor attack!"

"Fire Punch again!"

The two Pokemon launched their attacks simultaneously, although it seemed Gliscor had come out better: Electivire's burning fist was caught right between the two wings of Gliscor as it carried out the X-Scissor attack.

"Viiiiiire!" roared the thunderbolt Pokemon.

"Good job, Gliscor! Same again!"

"Swift!"

This time Gliscor was not able to reach its opponent as it was battered out of the air by the stream of stars Electivire had shot towards it.

Volkner seized his opportunity to issue a command while Gliscor was down.

"Another Fire Punch!"

"Fire Fang it when it gets to you!"

Once again, Electivire launched into Gliscor, its fist ablaze. However, just after its arm made contact with Gliscor, the fang scorp Pokemon sank its teeth into Electivire's fur body. Even from high up on his podium, Ash could see a small area of the electric Pokemon's yellow fur turn red as it was singed by Gliscor's burning fangs. When the teeth were withdrawn, Electivire's eyes rolled in their sockets before it slumped to the arena floor.

The referee rushed up to the fallen Pokemon and raised his flag.

"Electivire is unable to battle!"

The crowd cheered in appreciation of both Gliscor's victory and Electivire's performance, but Ash's attention was focused elsewhere: he noticed that Gliscor's chest had a raw mark on it, similar to the one it had given Electivire. It seemed that the announcer had noticed this too:

"Well, Volkner will choose his second Pokemon knowing that Gliscor has sustained a burn from Electivire's Fire Punch attack. It's unlikely that Ash's Pokemon will have much battling left in it!"

Ash gritted his teeth, hoping he would be able to get one strong attack in on Volkner's second Pokemon before Gliscor fainted.

"Go, Ambipom!"

Ash watched the long tail Pokemon materialise in the arena and was slightly taken aback to see it close its eyes in pain. He had been concentrating on Gliscor's burn so much that he'd forgotten about the Stealth Rock.

"Okay, Gliscor, let's go for one last X-Scissor! Give it everything you can!"

"Ambipom, Fake Out!"

Ash was stunned at the speed with which Ambipom raced forward and executed its attack. Gliscor appeared to have been taken by surprise as well as it fell to the ground and struggled to raise itself again.

"Come on Gliscor, you're almost there! Don't try to move, wait for Ambipom to come to you and use Fire Fang!"

Volkner, however, did not appear ready to allow Ash to carry out this tactic.

"Ambipom, stay where you are and wait!"

Ambipom did wait. After a few seconds of staring down Volkner across the arena, Ash wondered whether he should try a different tactic before the crowd began to get restless.

"Gliscor, use—"

But before Ash could name an attack, Gliscor fell once more to the ground, the wound on its chest burning brighter red than ever.

"Well, would you look at that!" exclaimed the announcer. "Ash has delayed too long and paid the price! Gliscor's burn seems finally to have got the better of it!"

Ash gave himself a mental lecture as he returned Gliscor to it's Pokeball. Why hadn't he just gone for it?

"You did great Gliscor," he muttered to the Pokeball. "We've got the upper hand now."

He replaced the Pokeball in his belt and withdrew another in its place.

"Now, I choose you, Bayleef!"

* * *

"Ah, I've been looking forward to seeing Bayleef," said Brock, sitting forward in his seat. "She always seems to just give that little bit extra in battles and its the first time she's had a chance on the Tour."

"I see she still hasn't got over her stupid crush on Ash," said Misty, rolling her eyes as Bayleef tried to run up the steps of Ash's podium.

"Ash's Bayleef has a crush on him?" said Anabel, wide-eyed as she watched Ash urge his Pokemon back into the arena.

"Yeah," said Brock. "She's been attached to him ever since she was a Chikorita and Ash rescued her."

"I'm not sure I admire Bayleef's taste," said Misty smirking.

* * *

"Razor Leaf!"

Bayleef shot a flurry of leaves towards Ambipom who merely jumped up and balanced on its enormous tails, avoiding most of the leaves.

"Now Swift!"

Once again, Ambipom emitted a shower of pointed stars towards its adversary.

"Try and beat them away with your Vine Whip!"

Bayleef did, although it appeared the stars were too sharp for the vines and Bayleef recoiled.

"BayBay!" she protested.

"Keep using Swift, Ambipom!" encouraged Volkner. "Bayleef can't avoid it!"

Ash's mind was working furiously. Bayleef wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack, she couldn't deflect it and she couldn't run through it. That left only one thing...

"Use Sweet Scent!"

Just as Ambipom was readying another batch of stars, Bayleef lifted the leaf atop her head and released a sickly-sweet smelling aroma from her body causing Ambipom to momentarily lose its concentration and fire the Swift attack in the wrong direction.

"Excellent!" cried Ash. "Now, Body Slam!"

"BayBayBayBayBay!"

Bayleef crashed head first into Ambipom, sending it rolling backwards into the base of Volkner's podium. The Sunyshore Gym Leader gripped the railings barring the edge of the balcony and looked down below, the concern on his face evident under the floodlights.

"Are you okay, Ambipom?"

"Well, Ash had to dig deep into his bag of tricks there to prevent Ambipom's seemingly unstoppable Swift attack! But not only did Bayleef's Sweet Scent make Swift miss, it also caused Ambipom to lower its guard and therefore take a great deal more damage than it would normally! Excellent strategy from the young Pallet star!"

The crowd applauded ferociously in agreement. That Body Slam attack had been by far the most powerful blow of the night and the spectators appreciated the cleverness behind the strategy.

However, Ambipom was back on it's feet.

"Run in and use Double Hit!"

Ambipom once again displayed its fantastic speed as it rushed towards Bayleef and landed two strong blows with its two tails.

"Now get out of there with Agility!"

Ash thumped his fist against the podium railings in exasperation as Ambipom sped out of harm's way. He had just allowed Ambipom to get two free hits in without even ordering an attack. But now Ash was faced with another problem: Ambipom was tearing round the battlefield at an incredible speed causing Bayleef to turn her head every second, a confused expression on her face.

"Don't panic, Bayleef! You don't need to worry until it comes closer, just keep your guard up for now!"

Bayleef refocused her attention and a more determined look took over her face. Ash and Bayleef both notice that Ambipom was running around in circles, gradually closing in on Bayleef with each lap. Just before it moved within attacking range, Ash seized his opportunity.

"Now, Bayleef, use Vine Whip!"

Bayleef launched a vine in front of Ambipom, causing it to trip and fall flat on its face before sliding along the ground.

"And now finish it off with a Headbutt!"

The crowd got to its feet in anticipation of the impending collision, and no one was disappointed.

"Ambipom is unable to battle!"

Ash shouted praise to Bayleef as Volkner returned Ambipom and concentrated on selecting his next Pokemon. After a few seconds, he appeared to have made up his mind.

"Let's go, Breloom!"

* * *

Kevin and Alice looked away from the TV screen as they heard the lounge door open. Rory and Ruth walked inside, the former clutching a group of Pokeballs in his arms.

"What are all those for?" asked Kevin immediately.

"Supper," said Rory sarcastically.

Alice turned back to the TV.

"I've been helping him pick his team for tomorrow," explained Ruth.

"You did _not_ help me. These six were completely my choice."

"Whatever," she said.

"You reckon you'll win tomorrow?" asked Kevin, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"I should do really if I battle well enough."

Alice turned back towards Rory.

"Wow, normally you just say 'yes'."

"Yeah, but Wake's no pushover. His Floatzel hasn't been knocked out all tournament."

"Yes it has," said Ruth. "Argenta's Tropius beat it in the group stages."

Rory looked annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't see what you're complaining about, Ruth. You're the one who—well, you and Alice really—but you always get on at me for underestimating my opponents. So I'm compensating by overestimating Wake."

Alice rolled her eyes and once more fixed her attention on the TV. Rory also glanced up and saw Breloom finish Bayleef with a Sky Uppercut attack.

"Anyway, you've already beaten Flint, Ruth. You're in the quarter finals now and I'm determined to join you there, and battle you, and beat you!"

Ruth gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Dream on, Rory."

* * *

"Cyndaquil, use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge, Breloom!"

Cyndaquil shot a jet of flames towards Volkner's Breloom, but the mushroom Pokemon was able to dodge.

"Seed Bomb!"

"Burn the seeds with another Flamethrower!"

Breloom's attack disintegrated on its way towards Cyndaquil.

"Now, Swift!"

"Dodge!" commanded Volkner.

But this time Breloom was unable to avoid the attack.

"Well, despite earlier dodging Cyndaquil's Flamethrower attack, Breloom and Volkner find out to their cost that Swift is much harder to evade!"

"Now, Flamethrower while it's down!"

"Quiiiiiiiiil!"

Cyndaquil exploded into another Flamethrower, directing it at the injured Breloom.

"Roll past the Flamethrower and get closer to Cyndaquil!"

Breloom obediently rolled to the side to avoid the scorching attack and jumped to its feet, beginning a run towards Ash's Pokemon.

"Now, Sky Uppercut!"

Before Ash and Cyndaquil had time to react, Breloom had given Cyndaquil a right hook, causing the Fire type to roll over twice, stopping flat on its stomach, eyes closed.

"Cyndaquil! Are you okay? Can you get up?"

"Quil!"

Cyndaquil vigorously shook its head so as to snap out of the dazed state it was in.

"Alright, good job!"

"Breloom, use Force Palm this time!"

"Flamethrower!"

Before Breloom could bring its hand down on Cyndaquil's body, it had been engulfed in a jet of fire, inciting a yelp and casing Volkner's Pokemon to hop back several feet.

"Quickly Breloom, let's get it back! Seed Bomb!"

"Smokescreen!"

Just as Breloom lobbed a barrage of exploding seeds towards Cyndaquil, the latter emitted a cloud of dense, black smoke which quickly engulfed the battlefield.

"Well, it's impossible to tell but it seems like Ash has succeeded in preventing the Seed Bomb attack from hitting!" declared the announcer.

Ash's mind was racing. The smoke wasn't going to disappear soon unless one of the Pokemon made it. But did he really want to try and disperse the smoke and therefore give Volkner a free chance to order an attack? It seemed much more appealing to try and attack Breloom through the smoke. What with the Stealth Rock damage and Cyndaquil's successful attacks, Ash felt Breloom must be coming to the end of its tether.

"Okay, Cyndaquil, you might not be able to see Breloom, but try to sniff it out."

The noise from the crowd immediately died out as everybody concentrated hard, trying to hear what was going on inside the Smokescreen.

Suddenly, Cyndaquil let out a cry, indicating it had located Breloom.

"Alright, Quick Attack!"

"Mach Punch!"

Ash was taken by surprise at the speed with which Volkner had ordered the counter-attack. It seemed as though he had been preparing in advance.

The sound of rushing feet gathering momentum followed by a sickening thud was clearly audible to the entire congregation. There was now no sound whatsoever in the stadium as everyone anxiously waited for some sign of which Pokemon had come out stronger.

"Cyndaquil! Are you okay?"

"Breloom! Can you here me?"

There was no reply to either trainer and, as the smoke gradually began to fade away, it became apparent why. The referee raced over to the two creatures in the centre of the arena.

"Both Cyndaquil and Breloom are unable to battle!"

The crowd immediately returned to full volume as the two Pokemon were returned by their trainers.

Ash could only grimace as he turned his thoughts to his fourth Pokemon. He had been narrowly ahead throughout the battle, but Volkner had pulled it back. Was losing his lead going to cost him?

Ash was unsure but, as he threw his next Pokeball into the arena, he was well aware that his future in the Fuchsia Classic was hanging very much in the balance.

* * *

_**NOTES: **So yeah. Ash vs Volkner is well under way. Sorry for being away so long. It happens a lot with me... things come up, I lose enthusiasm a little for writing... but these things go round in circles and hopefully I'll do a few updates in the near future. As long as everyone knows, no matter how long passes with no update, this fic is always somewhere in the back of my mind._

_So there are a few bits and pieces going on here. The trio get their Kanto schedule sorted (don't worry if you didn't get the whole ranking points thing, it's not really important. I'm sure tennis fans will recognise the concept though), Anabel is beaten by Cynthia and Ash begins his third round match vs Volkner._

_Anabel will become another semi-major character in the story, on a similar level to Gary and Ritchie. Due to the lengthy nature of the fic and also the way characters aren't always going to be in the same place, it's important that I continue to develop the characters of many Tour entrants and give them believable personalities so that I'll never be stuck for subplots and dialogue._

_I hope my readers are still interested to follow the development of this fic and, of course, I always welcome new readers. Any questions/comments/advice just shove a review in and I'll get back to you via PM._

_Will Ash beat Volkner? Are we going to get Goodshow's anticipated Pikachu/Raichu showdown? How will Misty fare against Brandon? Will Cynthia go on to take the title? Can Rory and Ruth go much further? Will Jessie really go spare?_

_There's a lot to consider and, as usual, I love to hear what everyone's thinking :-)_


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